The World's Treasure Part 1: The Rainbow
by Catflower Queen
Summary: We know that the Time Gears control the flow of time... but... where did they come from? What was a human doing in the Pokemon World? How does Laura fit in? But most importantly... what exactly is the World's Treasure? A "Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Exploreres of the Sky" Fanfiction. Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon.
1. Prologue

**The World's Treasure**

**Part 1: The Rainbow**

**Prologue**

There's a part of the Pokémon World that few have visited. It isn't because it's hard to get to. On the contrary, unless its barriers were to be put up, _anyone_ could reach there if they were in the right state of mind. No, the problem is that very few know of its existence outside of the realm of lore and legend… and those that _do_ know often stay away out of respect.

If anyone _did_ manage to enter, however, they'd find themself on the beach of an island, surrounded by miles of ocean. If they looked down the shoreline, they'd see a small, well-furnished house. That's the guest house. If they wandered inland, they'd find themself in a jungle full of trees laden with every type of fruit imaginable. More houses would be scattered here and there amidst the trees, and each would be full of different necessities and pleasures. Some would have kitchens and dining areas stocked with delicious meals. Some would be state-of-the-art medical wards. Some would be full of toys. Some would be stocked with art supplies and function like studios.

None would be inhabited.

Continuing through the jungle, one would find themself staring at a cliff wall. It's too sheer to climb and seems impassable, but if one looked hard enough they'd find a small knob. Releasing one's aura into it would open a door that led into a rocky tunnel. Eventually it would lead to a dead-end. A door on the right would lead into the living quarters of the sole inhabitant of the lonesome place, but if aura was released into the dead-end wall in front, the stone would melt away to reveal something beautiful.

Encircled by rocky walls would be a field of wildflowers. At the far end, a waterfall would feed into a small pool encircled by a grove of trees always in bloom and constantly dropping white petals onto the surface of the water. A path of stepping stones would lead up to a pedestal in the center of the pool.

On top of the pedestal and nestled in a basket woven of fragrant white flowers would be an orb. The orb would be more breathtaking than anything you could imagine; full of the swirling colors of a rainbow. It would glow with an ethereal light that constantly dims and brightens in response to some unknown force. Anyone who looked at it would immediately believe it to be the World's Treasure.

However, they'd be wrong.

The orb is important, yes… but it's nothing compared to the _real_ Treasure… and the truth about the _real_ Treasure is an even greater kept secret than the island itself…


	2. Ch 1: Disappear

**Chapter 1: Disappear…**

The wind raged. Thunder clashed and lightning tore across the blood-red clouds. Team Rainbow had beaten the misunderstanding Dialga, but the ever-present tremors made it clear that Temporal Tower was mere seconds from collapsing. Paula was shaking as she set the last Time Gear in place. For a moment the team feared that it hadn't had any effect, but then the gears sent out a pulse of energy in a white flash of light. The duo was momentarily blinded, but once they blinked the spots from their vision they saw that though the tower had sustained damaged, it _was_, in fact, still standing.

"Yes! It worked!" Paula shouted with glee, dancing in circles around her treecko partner, who was kneeling on the ground. She was still a bit dazed, but she smiled nonetheless.

Dialga chuckled at the pikachu's antics, which caused her to stop and blush. She looked down at the ground in embarrassment before whipping her head back up to stare at Dialga, a hint of fear on her face.

"So… you're okay now, right? You're not going to try to attack us anymore… are you?

Dialga gave a hearty laugh before replying, "NO. NOW THAT TIME IS FLOWING PROPERLY AGAIN, I HAVE CALMED DOWN."

"Time is flowing properly again… does that mean that places like Treeshroud Forest are back to normal too?" Paula asked.

"SEE FOR YOURSELF," Dialga invited before using his powers to show them the beautiful Pokémon World.

"Yes! We did it, Laura!" Paula exclaimed, grabbing the treecko's hands. Laura smiled back before the two were startled by a gasp from Dialga's direction. They looked over and were surprised to see Dialga's mouth gaping open.

"L-LAURA? DID… DID YOU JUST SAY _LAURA_?" he stuttered in shock.

"Uh, yeah. That's, um… that's her name. Is there a problem?" Paula asked in confusion.

"…NO… IT'S JUST…" Dialga glanced over at Laura before glancing over at the Time Gears, sighing, and glancing back. "IT'S NOTHING… I MUST THANK YOU ONCE MORE FOR SAVING MY TOWER. THE RAINBOW STONESHIP SHOULD STILL BE OPERABLE. HAVE A SAFE JOURNEY HOME…"

"Thanks! We will! Come on Laura!" Paula said cheerfully before bounding off. Laura took one last confused glance back at Dialga before following her friend, showing off her human heritage by walking upright, and not on all fours like a normal treecko.

Dialga watched Team Rainbow leave, and once they were out of sight he sighed and, almost wistfully, murmured, "I THOUGHT SHE SEEMED FAMILIAR… BUT WHAT WAS SHE DOING _HERE…_?"

* * *

As Team Rainbow made their way back to the Rainbow Stoneship, Laura began to fade away. Since she was from a future that no longer existed, she had to disappear… Paula was distraught, but she promised to grant Laura's last wish and return to Treasure Town to let everyone know what had happened. Eventually Paula made it to Lapras, who was waiting to take her home.

"Paula! You all did it!" Lapras exclaimed with joy before noticing that the pikachu had returned alone. "Where… where are Grovyle and Laura?" he continued uneasily. Paula's tears and heartbroken expression were answer enough.

The journey home was not a pleasant one. It was as though a cloud of gloom had settled over the two, and it only seemed to get thicker and more oppressive as Paula began to fulfill her friend's wish and explain what had happened.

The silence that followed at the tale's conclusion was oppressive, and it took a few false starts before Lapras was finally able to comment, "I was afraid that something like that would happen."

Paula's head, which had been bowed in sorrow, snapped up as she shot a fierce glare at Lapras. "What did you say?" she hissed. "You knew that this would happen? Why didn't you tell me?"

Lapras bowed his head in shame and closed his eyes. "I had hoped that I would be mistaken," he whispered.

* * *

It was sunset when the two finally made it back to the beach near Treasure Town. As Paula slid off Lapras' back, she glanced over to the spot where she had met Laura. Suddenly, a flash of light tore across the sky, and in its wake the heavens became illuminated with the colors of the rainbow. The colors didn't settle there, however, but spread to the earth. The world seemed to be blanketed with fresh waves of energy, and, for a split second, Paula could swear that it seemed to concentrate on her and Lapras, surrounding them each with a different color. It was almost like an aura… But as soon as she glimpsed it, the auras seemed to vanish. Another flash of light illuminated the world and took the rainbow tint with it. The sky was left with only the normal colors of a vanishing sunset.

Paula was stunned, and glanced over at the equally stunned Lapras. She managed a faint "Thanks" for the ride before she headed back to the guild.

* * *

Even though she was still upset, Paula couldn't help but smile when she stepped on the grate in front of the Guild and heard Diglett and Loudred's usual routine.

"Pokémon detected! Pokémon detected!"

"Whose footprint? Whose footprint?"

"The footprint belongs to… Paula! Everyone! They're back!"

The cheers of joy were loud enough, but when the sound of stampeding feet joined in it was almost deafening. As the apprentices made their way above ground and swarmed Paula with congratulations, the most the pikachu could manage was a weak smile.

It didn't take long for Chatot to part the crowd so that Wigglytuff could make his way over to Paula. He gathered her into a fierce hug before exclaiming, "I'm glad you're back safely! We missed you!" He released Paula and began to look around. But then, upon noticing that she had returned alone, he frowned and added, "But where are Laura and Grovyle?"

Paula's smile vanished. "Laura… Laura is…" It became too much and she fell to her knees, wailing in sadness. Everyone was dumbstruck and began to get a sinking feeling in the pits of their stomachs…

* * *

Once Paula had been ushered inside the guild and had calmed down enough to talk, she told the tale of the journey and explained her partners' fate. When she was through, the guild was in an uproar.

"What do you MEAN they're _GONE_?!" Loudred shrieked, causing Paula to flinch.

"Oh my gosh, Loudred! You don't have to yell at Paula!" Sunflora came to her defense. "It's not _her_ fault that they… sniffle…!"

"But, hey, hey! How is _that_ fair? Laura and Grovyle had to live in that world of darkness, but they don't even get to enjoy the new world that they created?" Corphish spluttered with indignity.

"And why didn't they tell us that this would happen?" Diglett quietly asked. "I mean… I understand that Laura probably didn't know because of her amnesia, but why wouldn't Grovyle…?"

"Oof… I reckon he must've thought it would've upset us…" Bidoof said.

"Well of course it would have upset us! Dugtrio agreed. "But, regardless..."

"Meh heh heh… some warning would have been nice," Croagunk cut him off. Dugtrio glared at him when Croagunk continued, "We didn't even get to say 'Goodbye.'"

Chatot decided to add in his two bits with, "Squawk! Indeed! Had we been informed, we could have tried to figure out a way to prevent it!"

"That's… that's probably _why_ they didn't tell us," Paula, who had been quiet since finishing her story, said. Everyone stared at her incredulously, so she elaborated, "They knew that there _wasn't_ a way to prevent it… hic! ... other than to let the tower fall. They p-probably thought that if we knew, we would t-try to stop them…"

"Paula…" Chimecho sighed, floating over to console Paula.

Paula, who was on the verge of another breakdown, wasn't swayed by Chimecho's attempts. She merely began to shake as she continued, "But they were wrong! Sure, I would've been upset… but I still would've helped them! How could they not know that? And how could they think that short amount of time would be enough to tell them how much they meant to me?! Laura was my best friend! Why would she think that I'd be okay with a goodbye like that?! Hic… sob… uh… uh… uhWAAAAH!"

With that, Paula once more broke down into a violent fit of sobbing hysterics. No one knew what to do to calm her down until Wigglytuff, who had maintained an uncharacteristically grim silence throughout the entire story and discussion, stepped forward.

"Paula," he began, forcing the pikachu to listen to him. "You need to rest." Wigglytuff used Sing and caught Paula as she limped and fell unconscious into his arms. "Chatot!" He called out.

"Y-yes Guildmaster?" Chatot asked, startled by Wigglytuff's actions.

Wigglytuff sighed before saying, "Paula's been through a lot today. She's hurt and tired and sad. Don't give her any jobs tomorrow; just let her sleep as much as she needs. And everyone… be careful with her for the next few days. Don't force her to talk if she doesn't want to." With that he carried the slumbering pokémon off to her room.

The apprentices and Chatot were left with a gloomy silence that was finally broken by Corphish saying, "Hey, hey… it's just… it's so hard to believe that Laura is… _gone._ And that… that we'll never see her smile, or hear her voice again…"

"Not that she talked much in the FIRST place…" Loudred added.

"She sure was a strange little thing, meh heh heh…" Croagunk chuckled bitterly. "Who _else_ has Plain Seeds as a favorite food? And how many other treecko are there that walk on two legs?"

Bidoof nodded and shed a tear as he added, "I remember how she always curled up into a tight ball when she slept. I wonder why she did that…?"

"There's so much we didn't know about her," Chimecho sniffled. "And she never even got over her amnesia…"

Everyone let out a sigh.

"…Come now. We have a big day tomorrow," Chatot said, trying to get everyone's mind off of mourning. "We all need to get to sleep. And mind what the Guildmaster said about Paula!"

No one could muster up the strength or enthusiasm for a verbal response, but they all nodded as they trooped off to their respective rooms.


	3. Ch 2: The Diaries: One

**Chapter 2: The Diaries: One**

Sunflora's "Oh My Gosh" Diary: Poor Paula…

… I just don't know what to say. Team Rainbow managed to stop the collapse of Temporal Tower… but it's a hollow victory. You see, Laura and Grovyle… they're gone! The future they came from no longer exists, so they can't exist either… Poor Paula… she was hysterical with grief when she explained what had happened… the Guildmaster had to use Sing on her so that she would get some rest. She's asleep now, but I can only imagine how she'll feel when she wakes up… I know I should try to be cheerful around her tomorrow, but I don't know if I'll be able to. Paula and Laura did everything together. Seeing her alone will just make me miss Laura even more… oh, Laura… sniffle…!

* * *

Bidoof's "Yup, Yup" Diary: Poor Paula…

Oof… I know I should be happy that Team Rainbow saved the world… but I can't be. You see, Diary, all I can think about is how unfair it is. Laura and Grovyle… by saving our world they sacrificed their lives and can no longer exist. They're gone forever… Paula took it real hard, and you can't rightly blame her. Laura was her best friend. I should try and be upbeat for Paula's sake, but all I can think about is her having to sleep in that room all alone, without Laura… sob… Laura…


	4. Ch 3: And Reappear!

**Chapter 3: …And Reappear!**

Months passed, but Paula never really recovered from her sadness. One night she went for a walk on the beach where she and Laura had met, and she became overcome with grief. When Bidoof came to check on her, he was clueless about what to do to calm her down. He frantically looked for something to distract her, and something behind her caught his eyes.

It was a bright light. It started out as a small pinprick, but it gradually grew into a large orb. As Bidoof watched it expand he thought he saw something green in the middle. Something green that was alive! He quickly pointed it out to Paula, and they both watched as a miracle occurred. The green thing… it was Laura! She was back!

The light vanished and Laura fell to the sand, moaning. Bidoof and Paula rushed over, and Paula scooped her up into a hug and buried her face into Laura's chest.

"Laura!" Paula cried out with joy. "I missed you so much!"

"…I missed you… too…" Laura said with a far-off voice. "I'm so… so sorry that I had…to leave…"

"That's f-fine!" Paula sobbed. "You're back now!"

Laura's voice was faint as she replied, "Yes… but I'm still… drained…"

"Huh? What do you mean?" Paula asked as she looked up, startled by the tone of her friend's voice. Her shock increased when she noticed Laura's eyes.

"Laura! Your eyes! They're… they're like rainbows!" Paula exclaimed.

It was true. Laura's eyes reflected the brilliance of a rainbow. The colors were more pure than anything Paula had ever seen before. Well, anything except for the phenomenon that had occurred that fateful day many months ago… With a sharp gasp Paula realized that Laura's eyes looked _exactly_ like the sky had on the day she returned from Temporal Tower!

Laura's weak chuckles broke Paula out of her thoughts. "Yes… but they won't remain… like this… for long… and… I'm sorry… but I'm not sure… that my memory will… either…"

Her friend's cryptic words left Paula confused and worried, but her emotions turned to shock when Laura's body suddenly became racked with tremors and rainbow-colored sparks. Paula and Bidoof were terrified and frantically called out to her.

Laura groaned as the sparks continued to fly and rack her body. "Sorry… but I probably won't r-remember this… when I wake up… ugh…"

With that, Laura collapsed. She continued to spark and tremble for a few moments, but quickly ceased and became motionless.

"Laura? _Laura?!_" Paula cried out in fear.

Bidoof rushed over and exclaimed, "Gosh! Is she okay? What was with that sparking?"

"She's cold… Bidoof, she's really, _really_ cold…" Paula said with worry as she felt her partner's forehead. Bidoof noticed the lost expression on Paula's face and decided to take charge.

"We need to get her home," he stated with authority. Then he grinned as he realized something. "Golly! I reckon everyone's going to be real happy to see her!"

Paula broke into a wide smile and shed tears of happiness as she realized the same thing. "Yeah! I can't believe she's really home!"

* * *

Bidoof and Paula carried the unconscious Laura back to Wigglytuff's Guild and Bidoof stood above the sentry post. As usual, Diglett and Loudred gave their little spiel.

"Pokémon detected! Pokémon detected!"

"Are you SERIOUS? At THIS time of night? Grr… Whose footprint? Whose footprint?"

"It's… Bidoof's! It's Bidoof's!"

"What? BIDOOF! You're LATE! We can't start eating until EVERYONE'S here! Paula had BETTER be with you!"

"Oof…" Bidoof cringed at the scolding. "Yup, yup. Paula's here. Sorry for being so late, but we ran into a… a _problem_ on the beach…"

Loudred opened the gates and stomped out to give Bidoof a piece of his mind. "WHAT problem could POSSIBLY be more important than DINNER?" he demanded.

Bidoof turned towards something behind him and tried to find the words to explain, "Well…"

Loudred looked as well and was shocked. "NO WAY! Is that… LAURA?!" he shouted in surprise. His voice echoed into the guild, causing the other apprentices to scream out in shock.

"WHAT?! _LAURA_?!"

* * *

Laura was brought inside and set down on her bed in the room Team Rainbow shared. Everyone except Wigglytuff was present and gazing at her in wonder. She was still asleep, but, instead of being curled up as usual, she remained motionless, flat on her back. This made everyone uneasy; if Laura was asleep and _not_ curled up, you knew it was a bad sign.

"Hey, hey!" Corphish exclaimed softly, being careful not to wake her. "Is it really Laura?"

Diglett glanced at her feet once more before responding with confidence, "Yes! That's definitely her footprint!"

"Oh my gosh!" Sunflora squealed. "Where do you think she's been all this time?"

Dugtrio frowned, "I am not sure… but she does not seem to be hurt. Just tired… and cold…"

"Oh! Guildmaster!" Chatot suddenly exclaimed, drawing everyone's attention to the door where Wigglytuff was entering the room carrying a thick blanket.

"Welcome home, Laura!" he crooned as he arranged the blanket over her body.

"Guildmaster," Chatot sighed in exasperation. "She's deeply asleep. I doubt she can hear you. She hasn't even moved once since she was brought in…"

Wigglytuff just got a silly grin on his face as he replied, "That's all right! I know she'll be fine! She just needs a good, long rest! Let's just let her sleep tomorrow."

"Meh heh heh… Doesn't the fact that she suddenly showed up and started sparking with energy concern you?" Croagunk asked, cynical as ever.

Wigglytuff shook his head. "Nope! I'm sure it's fine!"

Everyone else merely cast a concerned look in Laura's direction.

"Chatot!" Wigglytuff suddenly exclaimed, bringing the focus towards the guild's head of intelligence.

"Y-yes, Guildmaster?" Chatot questioned.

"We should have something to eat! It's _way_ past dinner time!" he said, giving Chatot a meaningful look.

"… Of course! Yes, Guildmaster!" Chatot responded, catching the look. "Squawk! Okay everyone! Time to eat!"

Every apprentice but Paula suddenly remembered their hunger and exclaimed "Hooray!" before dashing off to the dining room. Paula merely sighed and looked back at Laura.

"Paula? Aren't you hungry?" Wigglytuff asked.

"…No… not really," Paula lied before her gurgling stomach gave her away.

"Paula. You should eat something. You have a full day of exploring tomorrow," Wigglytuff said gently.

"I know… but…" Paula sighed and glanced at Laura.

"Don't worry. Laura is strong! She'll be all right! What she needs most now is peace and quiet so that she can get plenty of rest," Wigglytuff assured as he guided Paula out of the room.

"Yeah… you're right…" Paula agreed. But it didn't stop her from casting Laura a final worried glance before she left.

* * *

That night, around midnight, Laura began to glow with rainbow-colored energy. It wasn't sparking, though. It was softer, like an aura, and rather than coming from _within_ her body, it seemed to be coming from the world around her. Even though she was asleep, Laura still moaned and scrunched her eyes tighter together. Her body seemed to absorb the energy, and the aura soon faded away. Laura sighed and curled into a ball as she slept on…

* * *

The next morning Laura was still sleeping soundly in her little ball while the other apprentices gathered for the morning meeting.

"All right, everyone," Chatot began in a low tone, "let's stay quiet today so that Laura can rest."

"YEAH! Everyone needs to KEEP IT DOWN so we don't WAKE her!" Loudred added authoritatively.

"Oh my gosh, Loudred! _You're_ the one whose ridiculously loud voice is going to wake her up!" Sunflora chided.

Dugtrio growled in exasperation, "Sunflora! You are not helping!"

The apprentices continued to squabble and ignore Chatot's demands to quiet down. The sound carried all the way to the sleeping quarters and into Team Rainbow's room. Laura stirred at the noise and groggily blinked her eyes open. She glanced around and her eyes widened before she bolted up. She used the wall to stand on two legs and dizzily staggered towards the meeting area. When she was met with the sight of an argument, she was, understandably, confused. She spotted Paula on the fringe and staggered over.

"P-Paula… what's going on?" she asked in her usual, quiet voice.

"They're trying to keep everyone quiet so that we don't wake—" Paula began before realizing who it was that spoke. Her eyes widened and she whipped around in surprise. "LAURA! You're awake!"

Everyone froze and turned towards the young treecko. "Laura? _Gasp_! Laura!" they all cheered as they converged upon her.

"Oh my gosh! I'm so glad you're okay!" Sunflora squealed.

"We're so relieved that you're alright!" Chimecho added.

"Oof! I'm mighty glad you're back!" Bidoof cheered.

"I missed you so much!" Paula exclaimed, practically sobbing.

Laura, who had been backed up against the wall, was confused and, honestly, a little frightened as she asked, "Wh-what are you talking about? I just saw you yesterday! And why didn't you want to wake me? Aren't we supposed to be going to Brine Cave today?"

"HUH?" Everyone asked in shock.

"Laura… what are you talking about?" Dugtrio asked with concern.

Laura was frowning as she shuffled her feet. "Y-you know… to find out the secrets of Paula's Relic Fragment…" she trailed off as she took in the mounting expressions of fear and worry on the Guild members' faces. Her frown turned deeper as she uncertainly continued, "S-so we can find the Hidden Land…?"

"Squawk! Laura! Please tell me you're joking! You can't seriously have forgotten _everything_!" Chatot exclaimed, frantically flapping his wings.

Laura was clueless. "F-forgotten what?"

"NO WAY! Are you SERIOUS?!" Loudred yelled, causing Laura to flinch and press herself further into the wall.

"Oh my gosh! Laura, we went to Brine Cave _months_ ago!" Sunflora explained. "That was the last time we saw you and Grovyle before you both-" She froze up, uncertain of whether or not to continue.

Laura was trembling as she whispered with fear, "That was the last time you saw us before we both… what?"

Paula, finally noticing that the others had practically caged Laura against the wall and knowing that it wasn't doing anything to help her friends distress, shoved the others away, saying, "Come on, give her some space!" Once the others had complied, she sighed and explained, "Laura… we stopped the collapse of Temporal Tower months ago. After that, you… you vanished. You just reappeared last night!"

Laura blanched. "What?" She whispered, sinking to her knees. "But, I… where was I? Where did I go? I can't… I can't remember any of that…"

"By gosh! Is it amnesia?" Bidoof wondered aloud.

"But… Laura already _has_ amnesia," Diglett spluttered before turning to his father and asking, "Dad? Is it possible to have amnesia on _top_ of amnesia?"

"Well _obviously_, since that's what _just_ happened," Croagunk took the liberty of answering. "Meh heh heh… hey, Laura, you must be the amnesia queen!"

Everyone shot him a dirty look before turning their attention back to Laura when she muttered, "But if I… if I vanished… wh-why? Wh-what happened to me?"

Paula sighed before launching into an explanation of all that had occurred during Laura's memory blank, realizing the irony of the fact that she was fulfilling Laura's last wish even though Laura had no memory of issuing said wish in the first place.

Once the story was done Laura took a moment to absorb the information before asking, in a voice that, while quiet, was now much calmer, "So I'll… I'll never get to see Grovyle again…?"

Everyone glanced away.

Laura's eyes filled with tears. "But why… why was _I_ the one to come back? N-not that I'm not _glad _to be back, but… I can't remember my past. I don't remember what it was like to live on a paralyzed planet. Grovyle… Grovyle could remember _everything_! He deserves to be here so much more!" Laura was struggling to reign in her tears at this point. She buried her face in her hands as she continued, "I can't… I can't even remember his farewell… I must be a truly awful creature…"

"What are you talking about, friendly friend?" Wigglytuff asked in confusion. "You're not awful! You're _wonderful_! We're all so glad you're back!"

He pulled her into a hug, but Laura, who still wasn't convinced, was silent.

"…But, hey, hey! So you _really_ don't know where you went?" Corphish couldn't help but ask.

Laura sighed and shook her head. "No…" she frowned, "But… if I think really hard about it…"

"Yeah…?" Corphish prompted.

Laura got a faraway look on her face and said, "…It was dark… but at the same time… there was color _everywhere_…! I was connected to everything… but I… I was so… so _lonely_…"

Laura began to clutch her head, as if she was in pain, and Wigglytuff quickly stepped in. "Don't push yourself, Laura," he ordered. "You're still recovering. You should probably spend the rest of the day sleeping…"

Wigglytuff's voice faded out, and the world started to shimmer before melting into blackness.

"Sleeping… sleeping…" Wigglytuff's voice repeated, slowly changing into the timbre of a young girl's.

"…Sleeping… sleeping…" the voice repeated. Then the world started to shake.

"…Sleeping… Paula, it's time to quit sleeping. Wake up…"

Paula's eyes blinked open, and the world came back into focus. She looked around to find herself in her home on Sharpedo Bluff.

"Good morning, Paula!" Laura's cheery voice rang out above her. "I'm glad you're finally awake. We have a lot of exploring to do today!"


	5. Ch 4: The Diaries Two and Thr

**Chapter 4: The Diaries: Two and Three**

Sunflora's "Oh My Gosh" Diary: Miracle

Oh my gosh! Miracles… they really do happen! Laura… she's back! Yippee!

So Paula and Bidoof had been late for dinner tonight and we had all been wondering what was keeping them. I figured that they had just lost track of time… but no! It turns out that Paula had gone for a walk on the beach… and then, suddenly, Laura appeared!

Apparently Laura had been sparking with some sort of weird energy… but she seems fine now. She's sleeping in her room, but she isn't curled up like usual. Ooh… I have so much I want to ask her, but right now… I'm just glad she's finally home!

* * *

Bidoof's "Yup Yup" Diary: Laura!

By golly, I don't know if I've ever been happier in my entire life! Laura… she's back home!

I was there when she appeared on the beach… oof, I've gotta admit, she gave me a scare when she started sparking with energy and collapsed… but she's fine now. To tell the truth, I just went and peeked in on her a moment ago. Well, actually I've been doing it all night… but I'm not the only one! All the other apprentices-and even the Guildmaster!-have been doing it too!

Chatot caught us and started scolding us about how we would disturb Laura and Paula, but he can't fool me! No sirree, I know he just wanted an excuse to peek for himself, yup, yup. I don't reckon anyone, and especially not Paula, will be sleeping much tonight. Not until we've assured ourselves that Laura really _is_ back to stay.

Oof… it's just like before, when Team Rainbow came back from the future. Come to think of it… I wonder… is that where Laura was this time, too?

* * *

Sunflora's "Oh My Gosh" Diary: Amnesia?!

Eek! This is unbelievable! Laura… not only does she still have amnesia about her life as a human… but it's gotten worse! When she woke up this morning she told us that the last thing she remembered was preparing for Brine Cave! Oh my gosh! She couldn't remember anything about that exploration, or about Temporal Tower, or even about disappearing! What makes it worse is that she feels _guilty _about it!

I wanted to tell her how crazy that was, but it probably wouldn't have cheered her up. Guildmaster Wigglytuff sent her back to her room for the day to rest… but I don't think she did much sleeping. She was probably trying to get a handle on her emotions. Sigh… poor Laura. I hope she'll be okay…

* * *

Bidoof's "Yup Yup" Diary: Amnesia?!

Well, Laura woke up… but she's got an even worse case of amnesia now! She can't remember anything that happened to her after Team Rainbow made their preparations for Brine Cave! Oof… she was really beating herself up over it, too.

Guildmaster sent her back to her room for some more rest, and she hasn't left since. Not even for dinner! She said she wasn't hungry… but it took a lot of coaxing to get even _that_ response out of her. After this morning she refused to talk to anyone else all day, which wouldn't have been too surprising except for the fact that she also refused to speak to Paula. I reckon she must be in shock.

Oof… I'll be mighty glad when she returns to being her cheery self again…


	6. Ch 5: Laura

**Chapter 5: Laura's Birthday Blues**

Paula blinked her eyes, rubbing the sleep out of them. "Ugh…huh?" she groaned before registering her friend's greeting. "Oh!" she exclaimed. "Good morning, Laura! I had the weirdest dream last night…"

Laura cocked her head as a silent prompt for her friend to continue. "I was having a dream about the past," Paula obliged. "But it was so vivid! It was like I was reliving my memories…" she looked Laura over and smirked, "You know, you hardly ever talked back then."

Laura blushed, "Yeah… But my social skills _have_ improved."

"_Some_, maybe," Paula agreed before nudging Laura's elbow. "But not by much!" She laughed as Laura blushed even harder and then she wiped a tear of mirth from her eyes and said, "Okay! So what should we do today? Hm… oh! Let's go see what's new in Treasure Town and then get some jobs at the Guild. Or maybe we could do sentry duty. We haven't done that in a while."

Laura nodded, still slightly embarrassed, and the two headed outside.

* * *

Meanwhile, Bidoof was pacing outside the entrance to their home. "Oof… they told me it was my job to come get them," he muttered to himself, "but it seems rude to wake them up. I mean, I've been out here for a while and they haven't shown any signs of movement…

"They graduated from the guild, so they don't have to get up early like I do. Why, I reckon that they could sleep all day if they wanted to. Yup, yup! That's what _I'd_ do if I graduated. Oof… but… if that _is _what they're gonna do, then maybe I _should_ wake them up. Either way, I'm already gonna get yelled at for being so late…"

His continued pacing led him back to the entrance just as Team Rainbow emerged. He quickly stopped his pacing and greeted, "Oh! Paula! Laura! Good morning!"

"Good morning, Bidoof!" Paula responded, surprised by the early visit but pleased nonetheless. "What are you doing all the way out here?"

"Chatot sent me to get you," Bidoof explained. "He called a guild meeting in Oran Forest and he wants you two there!"

"H-huh? He wants _us_ there? And in Oran Forest? Why not at the guild?" Paula asked in confusion, glancing back at Laura. Laura just shrugged in response. She had no idea what was happening either.

"I don't really know either," Bidoof sheepishly admitted, "but I do know that we're already late!"

"What? Then we'd better get going!" Paula exclaimed, taking off running with Laura in tow and Bidoof bringing up the rear.

* * *

The trio was panting when they finally made it to the forest clearing where everyone was gathered. Surprisingly, Wigglytuff was nowhere to be seen.

"Pant… pant…Sorry I'm late!" Bidoof said, gasping for breath. "But I brought Team Rainbow!"

"Well it's about TIME! We thought you were NEVER gonna show up!" Loudred complained.

Chatot rolled his eyes before beginning the meeting. "Right then! Now that everyone is here… let's start the meeting for Guildmaster Wigglytuff's surprise party!"

The apprentices cheered, but Team Rainbow just looked confused.

"Surprise party?" Paula asked.

"Oh my gosh! That's right!" Sunflora exclaimed, turning towards Team Rainbow. "You two were in the future when it happened last time, and then you graduated so quickly that you don't know about it! You see, Guildmaster's birthday is in a few days, and every year we throw him a surprise party!"

"Oh! I see! It sounds fun!" Paula said in understanding.

"It is!" Chimecho agreed. "But it takes a lot of planning."

"Yes! So, on that note…" Chatot began to explain everything that was needed to prepare for the party. There were many conversations and arguments over things like who would do cooking, who would work on distracting Wigglytuff while everyone else set up, etc.

Once everything was settled, Chatot brought the meeting to a close by saying, "Now that that's settled, I must remind everyone that they need to bring a present. I cannot stress this enough! Understood? Right, then! Let's get to it! Meeting adjourned!"

"HOORAY!" everyone cheered.

The guild members headed off, but Team Rainbow decided to stay behind and stock up on Oran Berries. As they worked, Paula began to chatter to Laura about what to do for their assigned job: decorations.

"So I was thinking that we should make some streamers," she suggested. "Or maybe paper chains. What do you think?"

Laura bit her lip. "Um… what are streamers and paper chains?"

Paula was surprised. "You know! You see them all the time at parties. They're those paper things that you hang from the ceiling."

Laura shifted uneasily as she admitted, "It's just that… I think this might be the first party I've ever been to. I still can't remember my past, but I doubt I would've had much time for parties while on the run…" She frowned as another thought occurred to her. "Come to think of it… I don't even know when _my_ birthday is. Or my age…"

"That's right! Your amnesia!" Paula gasped, feeling like an idiot for not realizing it sooner. She frowned in thought. "Hm… well, don't worry. Parties are fun. And it's not that hard to make streamers. I'll show you when we get home."

* * *

A few hours after the team returned to the Bluff, their home appeared to have been taken over by art supplies. There was glue and glitter everywhere, and the ceiling had been covered in paint splatters from where the cap of a paint tube had been forcibly wrenched off. Each of the girls had a roll of white paper in front of them and had been armed with a brush and a selection of paint colors.

Paula clapped her paws together. "Okay! Now all we have to do is paint! Tomorrow we'll cut the paper and make them into links for the chain."

Laura was still uncertain, but she obediently dipped her brush into the cup of blue paint. The instant her brush touched the paper, all her uncertainty vanished and she became totally absorbed in painting.

The two were having so much fun that they didn't notice the passage of time. Finally, when the sun had sunk low enough in the sky that it became necessary to light a candle to see anything, Paula wiped her brow. "Whew!" she said, beginning to clean up her workstation. "Okay, Laura. I think we've done enough."

Laura slowly looked up, almost seeming like she was coming out of a trance. She saw that Paula was cleaning up, so she began to clean up her own station as well. The two went to move their work to another area to dry, and Paula gasped as she caught sight of Laura's paintings.

"Laura… these are beautiful!" she exclaimed as she admired them. They all seemed to feature Wigglytuff doing the things he loved: eating Perfect Apples, dancing, exploring, etc. They were lifelike, and seemed to capture him perfectly. "It's almost a shame to cut them…" Paula murmured in awe. Laura's paintings were much better than hers, which mainly figured blobs of color or random doodles.

"…You think so?" Laura asked. "It's okay. I can always paint more. It was… really fun," Laura said, nearly glowing with happiness.

"That's great!" Paula beamed at seeing her partner so openly showing her happiness. "So I was thinking… for Wigglytuff's presents, why don't we go to Apple Woods and pick him some Perfect Apples? They are his favorite, after all." Laura nodded. "Great! So tomorrow we'll head over there while we finish waiting for the paint to dry!" Paula decided.

* * *

Unfortunately for the duo, when they arrived at the forest the next day the big tree was nearly barren, with only a few Perfect Apples on the very tip-top branches of the tree.

Paula brought her paws to her eyes to act as a visor as she looked up. "There are hardly any left!" she exclaimed in shock before turning to Laura and wincing, "I guess everyone else had the same idea… what should we do?"

Laura crossed her arms and bowed her head in thought. She frowned and looked at the tree, considering an idea, before slowly saying, "Why don't _you_ pick some and I do something else? I have another idea…"

* * *

A few days passed and Wigglytuff's birthday arrived. Everyone did their best to act normal so that when Wigglytuff left on his traditional solo "birthday exploration," he suspected nothing. When he came back in the evening, however, and found the upper levels empty and the lower level dark, he was surprised.

"Hello? Friendly friends? Where is everyone?"

Suddenly the lights came on. In the time that Wigglytuff had been gone, the ceilings of the lowest level had been decked out with Team Rainbows decorations. A huge table laden with food had been placed right next to an even larger table laden with wrapped presents which all, with the exception of one, were similar in shape to a Perfect Apple. Someone had put a stack of party games in the corner, and furniture had been strategically placed in the room. Everyone jumped out from hiding and yelled, "SURPRISE! HAPPY BIRTHDAY, GUILDMASTER WIGGLYTUFF!"

Wigglytuff's mouth opened in a surprised gasp before he smiled widely. "Oh, wow! Thank you everyone!"

* * *

The party commenced. Most everyone was smiling, laughing, and having a wonderful time, but Laura and Chatot were being wallflowers and hanging out by the food. Laura was picking at her plate and only half listening to Chatot's complaints.

"… Always the same, every year," he was fuming. "Everyone goes wild and stays up late. Then they're surly and lazy the day after. And the place is always a mess! Squawk! HEY! You'd better clean that up!"

Laura sighed as she watched him run off to go scold one of the apprentices who had spilled their drink on the floor. She thought to herself, _"If he hates it so much, then why does he keep planning these parties year after year…?"_ She gave an audible sigh that was not missed by Croagunk, who had come over to the table to get something to eat.

"Well, well, well… what are you doing here all alone? Meh heh heh…"

Laura glanced down at her plate before hesitantly answering, "Oh… I… I was hungry, so I…"

Croagunk chuckled. "Meh heh heh… You must have a stomach like Bidoof's. You've been here all night." Unsurprisingly, Laura remained silent. Croagunk shook his head. "Why don't you just admit that you're not having fun and go home?"

Laura looked up in surprise. _"Surely it can't be that easy."_

Indeed, here suspicions were proven right when Croagunk continued, "Of course, if you do _that_… who _knows_ how big the Guildmaster's temper tantrum will be…? Meh heh heh…"

He wandered off, fully aware (and pleased) of the fact that Laura had gone rigid and pale with terror at the thought.

"Hey, Laura!" she heard someone call. She looked up and paled even more when she realized that it was Wigglytuff. "Come over here!" he continued. "We're going to play a game!"

Laura only hesitated a moment before her fear of what Wigglytuff would do if she refused caused her to bring her plate over to where most of the guild was sitting in a circle on the floor.

Sunflora explained the rules of the game. "All right. This is the 'Memories' game. It's super simple! All you do is pick a card and then talk about a memory you have that's associated with its topic."

"YEAH! And make them INTERESTING memories!" Loudred demanded.

Laura gulped. _"Memories? Oh no…"_

Paula noticed her friend's distress and frowned. "Laura? Are you okay?" she asked with concern.

Laura went rigid and glanced over at Wigglytuff, who had also frowned in concern and confusion, before she looked back to Paula and nodded.

Paula wasn't convinced, but before she could voice anymore concerns, Loudred proclaimed, "OKAY! I'LL start!" He grabbed a card from the pile and read it silently before freezing up.

"Hey, hey! Don't just sit there!" Corphish complained. "What's your topic?"

"…Uh… er…" Loudred stammered, unwilling to read it.

Croagunk swiped the card and read it out loud, his mischievous smirk growing with every word. "Meh heh heh… it says: Describe your biggest failure."

Sunflora nudged him and giggled, "Oh my gosh Loudred! Wouldn't that be the time you failed the graduation exam?"

"SH-SHUT UP!" Loudred yelled, blushing with embarrassment.

The apprentices, Paula, and Wigglytuff laughed, but Laura just looked nervous. The nervousness grew as the game went on, and it reached its peak when it was finally her turn. She gulped, barely stopping her hands from shaking as she drew a card.

"What does it say?" asked Chimecho.

Paula glanced at it. "Looks like… 'What's your biggest dream in life?'"

"M-my biggest dream…?" Laura murmured. _"Well, at least it's not a memory,"_ she thought to herself before blushing. _"But still… it's a little embarrassing…"_

"Hey, hey! So spill!" Corphish impatiently demanded. "What's your dream?"

Laura shook her head before shyly saying, "My dream is… well… to fall in love, marry, and become a mother…"

There was a thoughtful silence before Loudred snickered, "THAT'S your dream? Isn't it a little GIRLY?"

Paula was indignant as she defended her friend. "What's wrong with that, Loudred? Laura _is_ a girl!"

"Yeah! What's wrong with wanting a family?" Sunflora asked, acting as backup.

"Yeah!" Chimecho also joined in.

Faced with the anger of every female in the room (except for Laura, who was stuffing her face with food to hide her embarrassment) Loudred became very nervous and defensive.

"W-well…that's not REALLY a memory anyway!" Loudred abruptly changed the subject. "I think Laura needs a NEW topic!" He grabbed another card and read it. "HERE'S one! 'What was your favorite birthday and WHY?'"

Laura nearly choked on her food. She hastily swallowed before repeating, "F-favorite birthday?"

"Yup, yup!" Bidoof confirmed. "I reckon that's an excellent topic, considering the occasion."

"B-but… I…" Laura stammered.

"Come now, Laura," Dugtrio sighed in exasperation. "It really is not a hard question. Just tell us of your birthdays past."

Laura was on the verge of tears at this point. "But I still… I can't re-"

Mercifully, Chatot chose that moment to interrupt with an announcement. "All right everyone! It's time to give the Guildmaster his presents!"

Everyone but Laura cheered and abandoned the game to rush over to the table with presents. Laura took a moment to rub her eyes before she slowly plodded over. By the time she got there, Wigglytuff had opened almost all of them. To no one's surprise, they had all been Perfect Apples. Laura's present was the last to be opened, and instead of being spherical like the others, hers was rectangular in shape. Wigglytuff ripped off the wrapping paper… and everyone stared.

It was a painting. It was a simple painting, but a magnificent one nonetheless. It was of the big tree in Apple Woods where the Perfect Apples grew. Looking at it… you could almost hear the rustling of leaves and feel the sunshine that spotlighted the tree. One look at the ripe fruit on the tree's boughs caused your mouth to water, and you could almost _taste_ the Apples on your tongue.

Laura fidgeted, interpreting the silence as disappointment. She shuffled her feet and hastened to offer an explanation. "I… I know it's not a Perfect Apple… but I figured that since I couldn't _pick_ one, this would be the next best thing."

The silence persisted for a few minutes before Wigglytuff broke by slowly asking, "Laura… where'd you get this?"

"I… I painted it myself," Laura admitted, glancing at the ground. "I… I know it's not very good, but-"

"NOT VERY… are you KIDDING?" Loudred broke her off. "This is _AMAZING_!"

Laura looked up in surprise as Bidoof added, "Yup yup! Those Apples look good enough to eat, by golly!"

"Oh!" Chimecho suddenly exclaimed, looking up at the Team Rainbow's decorations with new eyes. "So then… these wonderful decorations…?"

"That's right! She painted them herself!" Paula beamed before blushing and rubbing the back of her neck. "At least… the good ones. The others are mine…"

"Hey, hey! Laura, you could be a professional! What a great hobby for you!" Corphish praised.

Laura blushed and everyone laughed.

* * *

When the party _finally_ ended Paula and Laura went straight home and Laura practically collapsed on her bed.

"_I ate way too much…" _she thought to herself, clutching her stomach. _"How does Bidoof _do_ it…?"_

"That was a great party! " Paula sighed, happily snuggling into her own bed. "Especially that game!"

Laura glanced at her and then glanced away with a frown, remaining silent.

"What? You didn't like it?" Paula asked, genuinely confused, as she sat up.

"…It's kind of hard to play a game that focuses on memories when one has so few of them…" Laura mumbled.

"That's right! Your amnesia!" Paula gasped. "Oh, Laura! I'm so sorry! I didn't realize-"

Laura cut her off with a weak smile. "It's all right. It really doesn't matter," she assured.

Paula wasn't convinced. "But…"

"Trust me… yawn… it's fine…" Laura murmured as she nestled into a tight ball and drifted off to sleep.


	7. Ch 6: The Diaries: Four

**Chapter 6: The Diaries: Four**

Sunflora's "Oh My Gosh" Diary: Scary Story

Wow! We just had Guildmaster's birthday party today and, oh my gosh! It was wonderful! Even Team Rainbow came! They made the decorations. Laura is a really great painter! I noticed that she seemed a little tense during the party, though. I asked around and it turns out Croagunk had scared her with stories about what the Guildmaster would do if she left early! Oh my gosh! Why would he do something like that? No _wonder_ she was nervous!

P.S. Eek! Oh my gosh! I just realized something! We made Laura play a game about memories, but Laura… she still has amnesia! No _wonder_ she was reluctant to play! How embarrassing for us! I'm not sure whether I should apologize or not…

* * *

Bidoof's "Yup Yup" Diary: Memory Problems

That Croagunk! I _thought_ that Laura seemed a little upset after talking with him at the Guildmaster's party… well it seems he'd been telling her that the Guildmaster would do all sorts of things to her if she left early! Now, I reckon that's a mean thing to do… even if it _is_ true.

Sunflora also told me that she thought Laura had a rough time with the memory game, seeing as she has amnesia. Oof… I reckon Laura has a lot more trouble than we realize. A lot of the time I forget she has amnesia. Shucks, I didn't even know she had it until she and Paula were telling us about their time when Dusknoir kidnapped them… and I didn't fully believe it at first… gosh, I wonder if she'll _ever_ get those memories back…

P.S. You learn something new every day! It turns out that Laura is a mighty fine painter, yup yup! Why, I reckon she could go pro if she wanted to!


	8. Ch 7: Everyone

**Chapter 7: Everyone's Birthday Shock**

One night, a few months after Wigglytuff's party, Laura and Paula were sleeping in their base like usual. But the night turned out to be a very special one…

Around midnight, Laura started to glow with rainbow-colored light. It was as though the world had decided she needed a recharge and was supplying her with energy. It was eerily similar to what had happened to her a year ago, on the night of her return from… wherever she was when she disappeared after the Temporal Tower incident. In any case, as the energy poured in, Laura began to have strange, disjointed dreams full of faces and voices that were strange to her, but, at the same time, very familiar…

Soon, the glow faded. But the dreams continued…

* * *

The next morning, Paula woke up cheerful and completely oblivious to the strange event that had occurred during the night. She looked over to Laura and noticed that her sleep was fitful. She quickly went over to awaken her.

"Laura?" she asked, shaking her friend's shoulders. "Hey, Laura? Come on… it's time to wake up…"

Laura groaned and sat up, rubbing her eyes.

"Good morning, Laura!" Paula greeted cheerily.

"Good morning, Paula," Laura replied, slowly opening her eyes. The second Paula saw them, she froze in shock.

"What's wrong?" Laura asked in concern.

"L-Laura! Your… your _eyes_…!" Paula stammered, her shock barring her from forming a complete sentence.

"M-my eyes?" Laura stammered, beginning to grow worried.

"They're… they're like _rainbows_!" Paula was finally able to say.

"What?" Laura exclaimed in confusion before going over to their water basin. She peered in… and froze at what she saw in her reflection.

Her eyes had, indeed, changed. Her pupils were still black, but where the irises used to be yellow, they now showed a rainbow of colors, all pure and beautiful. It wasn't just confined to the normal seven colors, however. The whole spectrum was displayed. The reds varied in hues from the lightest of pinks to a crimson color reminiscent of blood. Blue steadily darkened until it was indistinguishable from black. Then the black lightened into gray until it disappeared into white. What's more, the colors, instead of remaining stationary, almost seemed to swirl around… sometimes a few would seem brighter while others dimmed. Other times it almost seemed like a color would disappear entirely while another took its stead. Overall the effect was as beautiful as it was mystifying.

Laura was frozen in front of the basin, unable to believe it, especially as her eyes steadily widened with shock and allowed her to inspect them even more fully. Paula was shocked as well, but the silence gave her ample time to investigate a notion that seeing the eyes had prompted… a notion that she had seen them that way before…

"Oh!" Paula gasped as she suddenly remembered. "Laura! This was the color your eyes were a year ago when you returned after the Temporal Tower incident!"

Laura did not respond. In fact, she didn't even seem to realize Paula had spoken.

"…Laura?" Paula asked, beginning to worry.

There was still no response.

Paula became frantic and ran over to her, shaking her in the hopes of breaking her out of her catatonic state. "Laura! _Laura!_"

Paula's actions and worried voice seemed to snap Laura out of her daze. She blinked and looked over at Paula. Paula gave a shaky sigh of relief, but her friend's pale complexion did little to assuage her worry.

"Laura… what's wrong?" she pleaded.

Laura paused before glancing back at the basin. "It's just… I don't understand. My eyes…" She trailed off and turned back to Paula with a lost look before continuing, "Paula… these are my _human_ eyes. This is what they looked like before I turned into a treecko!"

Paula then understood Laura's extreme shock, as it mirrored her own. "WHAT?!" she yelled. "But… but how is that possible?! And… and why have they changed back _now_?"

"I don't know," Laura muttered, looking back at the basin. She frowned for a bit before a look of realization began to dawn on her face. "Unless…" she whispered before abruptly turning towards Paula and demanding, "What's today's date?"

"Huh? The date?" Paula repeated in confusion. "It's March 20th, the first day of spring." She cocked her head. "But what does the date have to do with anything?"

Laura frowned again, crossing her arms. "I see… maybe _that's_ why…"

"I still don't get it," Paula muttered.

"Today is my birthday," Laura explained, looking back to Paula. She seemed a lot calmer.

Paula was still confused. "Okay, so it's your birthday. But what does that have to do with—" Paula cut herself off when she realized what she had just said. "Wait! Today is your birthday?!" She exclaimed, jumping up to her feet in surprise. "But… but how would you know that? Unless… gasp! Your amnesia! It must be going away!" Paula smiled happily before frowning again in sudden confusion. "But… why now?" she asked.

"The memory—and the eyes, I suppose—must be returning because it's _this_ birthday," Laura said, nodding to herself in satisfaction. "She always told me that this would be the year I would learn many things… and _remember_ many things. Whatever _that_ meant…"

"…_Who_ said that?"

Laura looked startled before frowning. "…I don't know," she admitted. "I still can't… I don't know…" Tears began to well up in Laura's eyes. "B-but I _should_ know!" she stammered, growing frantic. "She was… one of the most… if not _the_ most… important—" Laura began to moan and clutch her head in pain.

"Whoa! It-it's okay Laura!" Paula tried to soothe her friend. "You're _just_ beginning to get your memories back. There's no _way_ you'll remember everything right away. Don't push yourself."

Laura nodded her head slightly and followed Paula's orders. Soon, the pain dimmed to nothing. She sighed in relief.

Paula smiled, glad that her friend was out of pain, before frowning in thought. "But… hm… today's your birthday, so we should do something special," she reasoned. "You know, instead of just doing some jobs from the guild." Paula paused, and her eyes lit up in realization as she exclaimed, "Hey! The guild! I bet they'd want to throw you a big party!"

Laura paled instantly, remembering Wigglytuff's party and all the anxiety it caused her. "I… I think I'd rather _not_ tell them," she said gently, thinking to herself, _"Explaining my eyes is going to be hard enough. I don't need to deal with all _that_ too…"_

Paula frowned again, but respected her friend's wishes and tried to come up with something else. "Hm… okay then… oh! Why don't we go to the Hot Springs? That would be perfect!"

Laura considered this before giving a broad smile and nodding in agreement.

"Okay then! Let's go!" Paula cheered as she helped Laura up and the duo headed to the door.

* * *

The two had just left their base and were preparing to head into Treasure Town when they heard a voice calling them. "Paula! Laura! Wait!"

The duo looked over to see Marill and Azurill running towards them. Suddenly Azurill tripped and began to cry. Laura and Paula rushed over.

"Azurill! Are you all right?" asked Paula.

Marill began to freak out. "I-I think he's bleeding!"

"Huh?" Paula exclaimed, checking him over. Sure enough, there was a small scrape on his belly with a bit of blood. "Oh dear… don't worry. We'll take you inside and get it cleaned up," Paula assured.

She picked Azurill up and carried him back inside, Marill following close behind. Laura was about to take up the rear when she noticed a white piece of paper on the ground. She concluded that Azurill must have dropped it when he fell, and went to retrieve it for him. The moment she picked it up, however, she became dizzy.

"_H-huh?"_ she thought, clutching her head. She got another dizzy spell. _"B-but… how can this be?!"_

Her eyes glowed brighter and got a faraway look…

* * *

_Drowzee was wrapping something up, like a present. He attached a card to it._

"_Perfect!" he exclaimed with a smile. "I hope they like them!"_

* * *

Laura's eyes snapped back to normal, and she stood in shock. She glanced at the piece of paper in her hand: it was the same one from her vision.

"_That… that was a Dimensional Scream!" _Laura's thoughts became frantic. _"But… how can I have had one when Paula wasn't around…? Maybe… maybe I'm just imagining things…"_

She headed back inside just as Paula was finishing bandaging up Azurill.

"There you go, Azurill!" Paula said. "Try to be more careful when you run, okay?"

"…Okay… sniffle… thank you," Azurill said.

"No problem! So what were you two doing out here?" Paula asked.

Laura surprised everyone by holding out the card and asking, "…Did you want to show us this? You dropped it outside…"

"That's right!" Marill exclaimed. "And this too!"

He pulled out a package, and Laura froze when she realized that it was the same one from her vision.

"They're from Drowzee!" Azurill added.

"_So it _was_ a Dimensional Scream…"_ Laura thought to herself.

After handing Paula the package, Marill and Azurill got ready to leave.

"Thanks again," Marill said.

"Yes! Thank you!" Azurill repeated. Then he frowned and took a closer look at Laura's eyes. He broke into a wide grin. "You know, your eyes are really pretty, Laura!"

Laura blushed furiously as they left. She handed the card to Paula, who opened it and started to read.

"_Dear Paula and Laura_," she read. "_How are you? My travelling is going well. Currently I am exploring the Chilly Valley. As the name suggests, it can get very chilly over here. I hope you enjoy these souvenirs! I have one of my own, and it's very useful! –Your Friend, Drowzee_

_"P.S. Paula, the yellow one is yours, and the other one is Laura's. I'm pretty sure it will be obvious once you see them, but just in case_…"

Once Paula finished, she opened the package. It contained two blankets: a yellow one with lightning bolts for Paula… and a sky blue one with clouds and rainbows for Laura.

"Ha! That's perfect!" Paula giggled. She noticed that Laura was unusually quiet… even for _her_. "Laura…? What's wrong?"

Laura took a deep breath, "Paula… I just had a Dimensional Scream."

"Really?" Paula perked up. "Just now? What was it about?"

Laura shook her head. "It was about Drowzee wrapping up the blankets… but I didn't have it just _now_. I had it when I was outside. _Alone_."

Paula's jaw dropped. "_What_? But… how is that possible?" she asked in shock. "Grovyle said that you needed the presence of a trusted partner for it to work!"

"I don't know…" Laura admitted. She frowned and shook her head. "I think… I think I'm forgetting something about the ability… but I'm not… entirely…" she trailed off, grimacing and rubbing her head in an attempt to ward off the headache that she was beginning to get.

Paula frowned, noticing her friend's discomfort. "Well, we'll have time to worry about it later," she reasoned. "For now, let's go to the Hot Springs to celebrate your birthday!"

* * *

Team Rainbow began to make their way through Treasure Town. Laura kept her head down to avoid awkward questions about her eyes. Paula thought it was ridiculous, but she didn't say anything until they reached the crossroads by Spinda's Café.

"Laura," she began, "there's no point in hiding your eyes. Everyone is going to find out eventually."

Laura sighed. "I… I know… but I'd rather not deal with it today."

Paula was about to respond when a voice interrupted, "Hey, hey! Team Rainbow! What good timing!"

Paula and Laura looked towards the voice in surprise and saw Corphish running towards them, having come from the guild.

"Corphish!" Paula greeted with a smile. "What's up? Did you need something?"

Corphish nodded his head. "Yeah! We need your help with something at the guild. It shouldn't take too long," he assured. "I was just coming over to get you…"

"It's a good thing we happened to be walking by, then!" Paula said, laughing. She turned to her partner, "Laura, do you mind making a quick stop?"

Laura quickly glanced up at Corphish before looking back down and shaking her head.

Corphish proceeded to lead them to the lowest level, where everyone was waiting.

Upon their arrival, Loudred exclaimed, "WOW Corphish! THAT was fast! MUCH faster than when we send Bidoof!"

"H-hey!" Bidoof exclaimed, affronted.

"We were already outside, by the crossroads," Paula explained, trying to mollify Bidoof. "So what did you need our help with?"

"Guildmaster got a package in the mail," Dugtrio stated, indicating towards a square package wrapped in brown paper and tied with string that was on the ground by Wigglytuff's feet. "It seems suspicious, and since the guild often receives threats from outlaws… we were hoping that Laura could use her Dimensional Scream ability to determine its nature."

Laura eyed the package while everyone looked at her expectantly. "I can _try_," she said. "But I can't make guarantees that it will work."

She knelt by the package and put her hands on it. Immediately she began to feel dizzy… but it was different than normal. This level of vertigo was higher than with any other Dimensional Scream she'd had so far.

"_H-huh?"_ she thought, grimacing. _"It's… it's so _strong_…!"_

Her eyes glowed brighter and took on a far-away look as the vision began…

* * *

_Everything was so clear… clearer than with any other vision she'd ever had. The guild was standing around the box. She and Paula were there too. Everyone was panicking, and the box began to tick. It started to shake madly, and then it exploded. Pokémon were screaming as the room became engulfed in a cloud of dust and debris…_

* * *

Laura's eyes snapped back to normal and she stared at the box in horror. "It's a bomb!" she yelled. "Take cover!"

"WHAT?!" the others screamed. The box began to tick and shake.

Laura pushed Wigglytuff to the ground and everyone else ducked for cover just before the bomb exploded. Pokémon screamed as thick cloud of dust and debris filled the air. After many tense moments of ominous silence, the smoke began to clear and pokémon began to cough and call out to each other.

"…Erg… Is everyone all right?!" Chatot demanded, flapping the smoke away from his face.

"Yes!"

"I'm fine!"

"Hey, hey, we're okay over here!" came the various voices as everyone made their way back to the center of the room.

Wigglytuff and Laura were still lying in a heap. Wigglytuff gingerly extracted himself from beneath her and helped her up.

"Laura! Are you okay?" he asked with concern.

"Urg…" Laura moaned, rubbing grit out of her eyes before cautiously blinking them open. "Yes… I think so. Sorry for knocking you down."

She looked up at his face, confused to see that he wore a surprised expression. She looked around and saw that everyone but Paula was mirroring him and staring at her. She frowned in confusion.

"Oh my gosh, Laura! Your _eyes_!" Sunflora exclaimed.

Suddenly Laura understood what the problem was, and she blushed furiously and tried to hide her eyes from sight.

Wigglytuff stopped her, exclaiming, "Wow! They're so pretty! Why try to hide them?"

Laura shuffled her feet. "They… weren't a normal eye color when I was a human, and they're even more abnormal now that I'm a treecko," she explained with a sigh.

Paula suddenly chuckled. "Wow, Laura! It looks like you're having an exciting birthday after all!"

Everyone's, including Laura's, jaw dropped as they stared at her. But unlike everyone else, whose jaws had dropped in surprise, Laura's jaw had dropped in horror.

The stares confused Paula. "Uh… what's with the weird looks…?" she asked. She glanced over to Laura and noticed her horrified expression. She cringed when she realized what she had just said. "Uh… oops? Sorry, Laura…" she apologized.

Loudred snapped out of his surprise. "LAURA! Today's your BIRTHDAY?" When Laura timidly nodded, he asked, "Why didn't you TELL us?"

Laura glared at Paula, a silent demand that s_he_ do the explaining because it was _her_ fault that Laura was in this mess in the first place. Paula got the hint and nervously began, "W-well… she only remembered it this morning…"

"Really?" Croagunk asked with a mischievous smirk on his face. "That seems a little suspicious… Meh heh heh…"

Sunflora rolled her eyes. "Silly Croagunk. Laura isn't the type to lie about something like that." She blinked and her face brightened when she realized something. "Oh my gosh! Do you know what this means? You must be getting your memory back! Isn't that great?"

Laura was less than enthused. That level dropped even further when Wigglytuff said, "Ooh! This means we can have another party!"

"N-no! That's okay!" Laura exclaimed in terror, remembering all the awkwardness and unease she felt during Wigglytuff's party. "It… it really isn't necessary!"

"Huh?" Wigglytuff asked, his eyes filling with tears. "B-but…"

The room began to shake. Laura sensed the danger that was Wigglytuff's Rage attack building, so she quickly tried another tack. "Please understand, Guildmaster. This birthday… among my people, this is one of the most important events in a person's life. It marks a person as ready to _fully_ join the community. It is a time for celebration, yes, but for a quieter, more… _contemplative_ one. A big party wouldn't be appropriate… especially for _me_, with my position… I think…" she trailed off, seeming a bit confused, before looking around and noticing the expressions of surprise over the fact that she had said so much in one sitting. She blushed.

Wigglytuff looked mollified. "I understand," he said, and everyone breathed a sigh of relief that the crisis had been averted.

"But… hey, hey! What do you mean by 'your people'?" Corphish asked.

Laura opened her mouth to explain, but then she blinked and closed it in surprise when she realized something. _"My… my people?"_ she thought. _"That's right… I _did_ belong to a 'people,' but… I can't quite remember…"_

She looked up at Corphish's expectant face and tried again. "Um… yeah. My people. We were… um…" she crossed her arms and frowned, trying to remember. "What were we called…? I think… I _think_ it had to do with something that was important to us…" She grimaced as a headache began to form. "I know… we had a leader, but… who was…?" she began to rub her temples as the pain mounted. "Ugh… my _head_…"

"Hey, hey! Okay! Okay!" Corphish exclaimed in worry at seeing Laura's condition. "Don't push yourself if you can't remember right away. You should take it slowly."

Laura nodded and did as he said. To her relief, the pain slowly began to ebb.

"Perhaps if we tried a simpler memory?" Dugtrio offered. "How about your age? Can you remember that?"

"Yeah!" Paula exclaimed, suddenly realizing something. "You never told me how old you are!"

Laura's headache had, by this point, mostly subsided, but she was still wincing a bit as she answered, "Of course. _That's_ easy." She removed her hands from her head and grinned. "I never thought I'd make it to this birthday… but I'm _finally_ thirteen."

Chatot nodded. "All right, so you're thirteen," he repeated. Then he blinked. "Wait… what?! Squawk! You're only _thirteen_?!"

"NO WAY!" Loudred exclaimed, equally shocked. "I thought you were WAY older than that!"

"Yeah," Paula agreed. "You act more mature than I do… but you're actually about two years younger than me!"

"Oh my gosh, yes!" Sunflora exclaimed. "You certainly don't a_ct_ like a thirteen-year-old!"

Chatot was in a state of shock. He grimaced to himself, muttering, "There goes our guild's reputation… how can we claim to be the best when a mere _child_ can pass our graduation exam after training with us for barely over a year…?"

Laura frowned, feeling a little hurt by that comment. Chatot noticed, realized his mistake, and immediately tried to back-track, frantically flapping his wings. "Oh! No! I didn't mean… there's nothing _wrong_ with being a child! Er… that is…"

"Oh! It's like Guildmaster Wigglytuff! You must be an exploration prodigy too!" Chimecho suddenly exclaimed, saving Chatot from digging himself any further into a hole.

"Yes!" Chatot grabbed at the save. "Yes, that's _exactly_ what I meant!"

Laura didn't buy it, but she merely shook her head and turned her attention to Croagunk when he said, "Meh heh heh… not to mention that you probably got a lot of practice running for your life from Dusknoir in the future…"

Laura frowned and looked at her feet.

Noticing Laura's quickly souring mood, Wigglytuff stepped in. "Well, hi there!" he said, causing everyone to turn their attention towards him. "Laura, it doesn't matter how old you are, or whether you're an exploration prodigy or not. You're our good friend either way!"

Laura gave him a small smile.

"Now, I know that you don't want a big fuss," he continued. "But it's still your special day, so I hope you'll accept this. Here!"

To everyone's shock, Wigglytuff presented her with a Perfect Apple. This was a big honor; Wigglytuff _never_ just _gave away_ his "precious" Perfect Apples.

"Th-thank you!" Laura stammered. She gave him a little curtsy, and everyone laughed.

* * *

Eventually Paula and Laura made it to the Hot Springs, and Laura all but melted with pleasure at the feel of the warm water. She sighed and closed her eyes, becoming completely relaxed.

"Sorry, Laura," Paula apologized. Laura opened her eyes to look at her. "I know you wanted to have a quiet day today."

"It's all right," Laura assured, smiling. "But I still don't get why they were all making a big fuss about me only being thirteen…"

Paula rolled her eyes; clearly Laura didn't see just how big a deal it was to graduate from Wigglytuff's Guild at _all_, let alone, as Chatot said, when you were still a c_hild_.

"Hoh hoh hoh… ah, youth!" Torkoal exclaimed from his usual place on the rocks.

"Oh! Hello, Torkoal!" Paula greeted. Laura turned around and smiled at him.

"Oh?" Torkoal questioned upon noticing Laura's eyes. "Those eyes… they remind me of that legend…"

Paula and Laura perked up and glanced at each other before moving closer to the elderly pokémon.

"What legend?" Paula asked, curious.

"That's right… that legend…" Torkoal nodded. "Let's see… how did it go…? Ah, yes! A long time ago there was a goddess with two companions. One was a boy with eyes the color of… er…" Torkoal paused and turned away, frowning and muttering, "What color were they again…?" He shook his head and turned back to Team Rainbow, continuing, "Well, in any case, the goddess' other companion was a girl with the eyes like rainbows. The goddess came to this world with her companions to…" Torkoal paused again and turned away. "Er… why did they come…?" He turned back around and frowned. "I'm sorry; it seems to have slipped my mind…"

Paula sighed, not really surprised, but still a little disappointed, by his forgetfulness. That story seemed like it would have been really interesting! "That's all right, Torkoal," she told him.

Laura frowned in thought. _"A…legend? About a girl… with eyes like mine…?"_ She winced._ "Ugh… my head hurts… What am I forgetting…?"_


	9. Ch 8: The Diaries: Five

**Chapter 8: The Diaries: Five**

Sunflora's "Oh My Gosh" Diary: Only Thirteen?!

Oh my gosh! Laura is even more amazing than I thought! Today was her birthday, and guess what? She's only thirteen! That means she was only a _child_ when she and Paula saved the world... twice! What's more, Paula is pretty young too. Those two kids were the youngest in the guild!

Loudred was sulking about that earlier because it means that he got beaten up by children during Team Rainbow's graduation exam. He hadn't even been holding back!

Anyways… Laura seems to be recovering her memories. At first I was happy for her, but—Eek! Now that I think about it… all her lost memories would be of that paralyzed future! Maybe she was better off forgetting…

P.S. Oh my gosh! Laura's eyes are so pretty! They're like rainbows! They suit her perfectly! Especially since she's a member of an exploration team _called _Team Rainbow...

* * *

Bidoof's "Yup Yup" Diary: Surprises Galore!

That Laura! She's just _full_ of surprises! It turns out that today was her birthday… and she's only thirteen! Golly! Can you believe it, Diary? I know I was sure surprised when I heard that. I always thought that she and Paula were around my age, but it turns out that they're younger than me!

What's even more amazing is that Laura is getting over her amnesia. And her eyes turned the color of rainbows! Oof… they're sure pretty…

I wonder what other surprises Laura is hiding…


	10. Ch 9: Families and Trees

**Chapter 9: Families and Trees**

A few days passed after Laura's birthday, but nothing amazing happened. Team Rainbow spent the time doing exploration work and trying to piece together Laura's past. Unfortunately, they weren't making much headway. What seemed to work the best was to have Laura paint out the little pieces of memory as they came to her. It wasn't difficult; ever since they had found out that Laura adored painting, they had stocked their base with art supplies… and ever since her _birthday_, with the influx of belated birthday presents (which Laura did not ask for, but ended up enjoying nonetheless), the art supplies had threatened to completely take over the base.

On this particular day, very early in the morning, Paula was still sleeping, but Laura found herself unable to. The vague snippets of memory taunted her and plagued her mind. She decided to get up and paint, hoping that putting them on paper would help her deal with them.

As she finished each painting, she hung it up on a line to dry. She continued like this for a while, and the sun slowly started its ascent into the sky. A breeze pulled one of the paintings loose, and it came off the line, fluttering down and landing on Paula's cheek. It woke her up.

"Wha… huh?" she muttered groggily. She took the picture off her face and looked at it with a puzzled expression. It appeared to be of a forest, lush with greenery. It was still a bit damp, so Paula decided to put it back on the drying line. As she did so, she noticed that many of the pictures on the line were of a forest, presumably the same one as in the picture that had caused her to awaken. None of them had been there last night, and since many of them were completely dry, it indicated to Paula that their artist had been up for a long time...

Paula turned to Laura, who was still absorbed in painting. "Laura?" she asked. "How long have you been up?"

Laura blinked. "…Huh?" she asked, slowly lifting her head and looking around, as if she were waking from a trance. Her eyes rested on Paula, and she smiled. "Oh, good morning, Paula!" she greeted. Then she frowned as her mind registered Paula's question. "How long have I been up? Uh…" she glanced at her long line of drying paintings and blushed, sheepishly saying, "I'm not… entirely sure… but I'm going to guess, um… a few hours?"

Paula frowned at this, and Laura instantly assured her, "I'm all right… I just… I couldn't sleep. I keep thinking about this forest… I almost feel like I did at the lakes of the Spirit Trio… like I've _been_ there before… wherever 'there' is."

"Really?" Paula asked eagerly. "What about the picture you're painting now? Does that feel like it too?"

Laura frowned in confusion. Her little "trance" had made her lose track of what she was painting. She looked down at it… and began to blush.

Paula was surprised. "What is it?" she asked, trying to get a closer look.

Laura began blushing even more furiously and quickly folded up the picture and shoved it into the treasure bag in an attempt to hide it. "It, uh… it isn't about a forest! It… uh…" she stammered, unwilling to tell Paula what she had depicted.

Paula was bemused by Laura's reluctance, but decided to take mercy on her and change the subject. "So… if you think this forest has something to do with your memories, then maybe we should try to find out which forest it is. Let's head over to the guild to see if there are any forest jobs on the bulletin boards!"

* * *

After stocking up on supplies in Treasure Town, Team Rainbow headed for the guild. On their way they discussed (well, Paula discussed while Laura just listened, occasionally nodding or shaking her head) all the different forests that they'd been to, and whether any of them where the mystery forest in Laura's painting.

When they reached the second level of the guild, they were surprised to see that it was empty. Chimecho wasn't at her usual post, and no exploration teams or apprentices were crowding the boards.

"That's strange," Paula said as they perused the boards. "I wonder where everyone is… they would have finished the cheers by now, right?"

Laura frowned and nodded. She was just as confused as Paula.

Paula sighed. "Well, in any case, let's hope that Croagunk, at least, is in his normal spot. We got a lot of exclusive items during yesterday's explorations, and I want to see if we can swap them for anything cool."

The two headed down the ladder… and came upon the sight of the apprentices clustered around something in the middle of the room. It was vaguely reminiscent of the time when Team Charm visited the guild… Paula spotted Loudred at the back of the crowd and gestured to Laura that they should head over.

"Hey, Loudred. What's going on?" Paula asked once the two had reached him.

"OH! You two!" he exclaimed in greeting, turning around to face them. "You'll never BELIEVE who's here! It's Team Spark-Seed!"

Paula's jaw dropped in shock. "Wha-?! T-Team _Spark-Seed_?!" she stammered. "What are _they_ doing here?"

Loudred was surprised. "WOW! You actually _KNOW_ about them?" he asked. Then he muttered, or rather, _attempted_ to mutter, as his ridiculously loud voice made _actual _muttering impossible, "There's a FIRST time for everything, I guess…"

"Of _course _I know about them! After all, the leader is—" Paula began, before her brain registered the jibe. "Hey!" she exclaimed, feeling insulted. "Why is it such a surprise that I know about them?"

"Well," Loudred began, "going by your TRACK record… you DIDN'T know about Team Charm… you DIDN'T know about Dusknoir…"

Paula rolled her eyes and huffed, "Yeah, like not knowing about the 'great' Dusknoir was such a _big_ loss. I would have preferred not knowing about him at all!"

Loudred gulped, recognizing that he'd hit a sore spot, before back-tracking, "Ugh… OKAY! BAD example! But STILL!"

"Um…" a quiet voice interrupted. Loudred and Paula looked over to see a very confused Laura. "Who's Team Spark-Seed?" she asked.

"Team Spark-Seed is a three-pokémon exploration team," Paula answered. "They're Master Rank." She turned and began to point out the individual team members. "On the right is Adam," she said as she pointed to a jolteon wearing a mischievous smirk. "He's got an attitude. That's Eve," she pointed out a lefeon on the left who kept shaking her head in exasperation in Adam's direction. "She's very calm, cool, and collected… usually. She's really nice. She and Adam are siblings. Adam is actually older than her, but he sure doesn't act like it!" Then Paula crossed her arms and sighed. "Then, in the middle, you have the leader. _Ricky_."

Laura glanced at the raichu in the middle. He was nudging Adam with his arm and grinning. She turned back to Paula and was confused at the strange expression she saw on her face. Paula continued her explanations. "He's a total flirt, so watch out. He also, unfortunately, happens to be—"

"SH!" Loudred said, cutting her off. "I think Guildmaster Wigglytuff is coming out!"

Sure enough, at that moment Wigglytuff could be seen coming out of his room and greeting Team Spark-Seed.

"Friendly friends! Welcome!" he greeted happily. "What brings you to my guild?"

Ricky gave a slight bow. "Hello, Sir!" he responded. "We came here to deliver a message to someone, and I was hoping that you could tell me where she is. She s_aid_ that she was going to become an apprentice here, but knowing her…" he trailed off and smirked

"Heh heh… she probably got scared off and is sulking somewhere," Adam snickered.

Laura watched in curiosity and confusion as that statement caused Paula to get mad and start growling…

Eve rolled her eyes. "Oh, _please_, Adam," she sighed. "Paula may be timid, but she isn't stupid. If she failed to join, then she would have returned home by now."

"Oh!" Wigglytuff exclaimed once he registered the name Eve had said. "Did you say 'Paula'? Is she who you need to deliver the letter to?"

To the guild's shock, Ricky replied, "Yes. Do you know where she is?"

"Yes! She lives on Sharpedo Bluff!"

"Sharpedo Bluff, huh?" Ricky repeated. "Guess we'll head over there."

"There's no need, Ricky. I'm already here," Paula piped, stepping forward. Everyone turned to her in surprise.

"Paula!" Ricky exclaimed with a smile, bounding over to her. To the guild's _further_ surprise, he gave her a big hug. "I haven't seen you in forever! How are you doing, Little Sister?"

"HUH? L-LITTLE SISTER?" the members of the guild repeated, jaws dropping.

Paula sighed, "I've been fine, Big Brother."

"_HUH? B-BIG BROTHER?"_ the guild asked, still dumbfounded.

"So you joined the guild after all? Ha! I didn't think you had it in you!" Adam snickered.

Paula glared at him. "For your information, Adam, Laura and I not only _joined_ the guild, but we _graduated_ a long time ago!"

"Good for you!" Eve applauded. "Who's this Laura? I'd like to meet her."

"Sure!" Paula agreed, turning to the back and beckoning Laura forward. "Laura! Come over here!"

Laura hesitantly stepped forward, and Paula put a paw on her shoulder. "This is Laura, my best friend!" she said as an introduction.

"A treecko, huh? Are you trying to be a copy-cat and make your _own_ 'Team Spark-Seed' with grass and electric types? Hm?" Adam teased.

"_Our _team is Team _Rainbow_, thank you very much," she stated.

"Oh!" Eve exclaimed in surprise. "So it was _you_ two who stopped the planet's paralysis and the distortion of space?"

Paula was beaming as she said, "That's right!"

"Oh… see, _now_ the name makes sense!" Adam said. "I wondered why the team that saved the world twice would have a dorky name like Team _Rainbow_… but if it came from the mind of Ricky's baby sister, then—"

Laura could sense that Adam's comments had finally driven Paula to the edge (seeing as her cheeks were sparking ominously and she was growling with barely restrained rage), so to prevent bloodshed she quickly interjected, "Actually, _I_ was the one who came up with the name."

"Of course!" Ricky suddenly cut in, grabbing her hand. "Such a cute, artistic name _obviously_ had to have come from the mind of a cute, artistic girl such as you. You're probably the brain _and_ brawn behind the team, right?" he bent down to place a kiss on her hand.

Laura blushed.

Paula pushed her brother away from her friend and glared. "Back off, Ricky! She's _way_ too young for you. She's younger than _I_ am!"

"Ah," Ricky said, not fazed in the least. "That would explain her super-adorableness!"

Paula sighed and decided to change the subject. "You said that you had a message for me? What is it?"

"Oh, right," Ricky said, getting into his "business" mode. "Mom and Dad are hosting a family reunion in a few days, and they wanted to know if you could come."

"A family reunion?" Paula asked in surprise. "Sure, I'll be there."

"Awesome. See you then. And I'll see you three gorgeous girls later too, I hope!" he called out, winking at Sunflora, Chimecho, and Laura. Chimecho and Sunflora giggled, Laura blushed, and Paula slapped a paw to her forehead.

Team Spark-Seed left, and Eve smacked the flirtatious Ricky and laughing Adam on the way out. The second they were out of the room, the apprentices converged on Paula.

"NO WAY!" Loudred exclaimed. "I can't BELIEVE you're THE famous Ricky's _sister_!"

Paula rolled her eyes. "I've been _trying_ to tell you all day, remember? All those times you cut me off?"

"Oh… RIGHT…" Loudred said sheepishly, blushing with embarrassment.

"Oh my gosh!" Sunflora squealed. "Family reunions are so fun! You get to see so many relatives that you haven't heard from in a long time!"

"Yup, yup!" Bidoof whole-heartedly agreed. "Oof… you're lucky. I'd love to see my little siblings again…" he sighed wistfully.

"Oh! You have little siblings, too?" Chimecho asked.

"SO DO I!" Loudred exclaimed. "I have a BIG sister, too!"

"I have a little sister myself… meh heh heh…" Croagunk added quietly.

They all continue to chat animatedly about their families. Croagunk seemed to be upset about something, so he soon withdrew and headed back to his Swap Shop. Laura, who had felt rather left out of the conversation, followed him to do the swaps that she and Paula came to the lower level for in the first place. Corphish noticed them leave and remembered that he _also_ had some swaps to do, so he headed over as well.

Paula wasn't kidding about the amount of exclusive items that Team Rainbow had obtained, and Corphish quickly grew bored with waiting. He looked around for something to occupy his interest… and noticed a piece of paper sticking out of Laura's treasure bag.

"_Hey, hey?" _he thought to himself. _"Is that a new painting?"_

He pulled it out of her bag and scuttled back to where the rest of the guild and Paula were still chatting, calling out, "Hey, hey! Everyone! Laura did a new painting!"

Upon hearing that, Laura, who had been examining a list of items being requested to swap for a Drain Bangle, immediately snapped her head up._ "Oh no…!" _she internally panicked as she frantically searched through the treasure bag, looking for the picture she had hidden in there earlier. To her dismay, it was nowhere to be found. She whipped around just in time to see Corphish begin to unfold it while the other members of the guild watched curiously.

"No!" she called out. But it was too late; everyone had already seen the image.

It was obviously a portrait… but no one knew what it was a portrait _of_. To them, it just looked like some weird, pale-faced creature with sand-colored fur on its head and wearing a headband of the same golden color as its eyes…

"What kind of creature is THIS?" Loudred asked, taking a hold of the portrait to get a better look.

Laura stomped over and grabbed the painting out of his hands.

"HEY! What was THAT for?" he demanded.

Laura just glared at him. Everyone stared at her in surprise; they had never seen her act this way before.

As the staring continued, Laura's glare gradually disappeared and she began to blush in horror and embarrassment. She clutched the picture to her chest and bolted towards the exit.

The members of the guild were stunned and glanced at each other in confusion, but Paula was worried and followed her partner out.

* * *

Paula's search for her friend eventually led her back to Sharpedo Bluff, where she found Laura lying face-down on her bed, with the picture folded in her hand.

"…Laura? Are you okay?" she asked.

Laura didn't respond.

"Um… Is this about the picture of that creature?" Paula asked, hoping to figure out why her friend had acted so strangely. "I mean… yeah, I guess we should have asked permission before looking at it, but—"

Laura cut her off by mumbling unintelligibly into her pillow.

"…Pardon?"

Laura rolled over. She took a shaky breath and turned her eyes toward Paula, who was startled to see that they were puffy, as if she had been crying. Laura took another breath and quietly repeated her statement. "I s_aid_… the boy in that picture isn't a 'creature.' He's a _human_."

Paula was surprised. "Wha-?! So _that's_ what humans look like? Did you look like that?"

Laura shook her head. "… Other than my eyes, I don't remember what _I_ looked like. Grovyle told me that I was pale and had brown hair, but…" she trailed off and glanced away.

"Did… did you know him?" Paula asked, glancing at the folded paper in Laura's hand. "I mean… was he, like, a brother or something?"

"I don't know," Laura whispered. "I still can't remember my family… a-and even if I _could_, what difference would it make?" Her eyes began to well up with tears and she curled onto her side. "It's not like they exist anymore…"

Paula knelt to the ground. "Laura…" she began sympathetically, pulling her into a hug. "I'm sorry…"


	11. Ch 10: The Diaries: Six

**Chapter 10: The Diaries: Six**

Sunflora's "Oh My Gosh" Diary: Ricky!

Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh! I thought that I was excited when Team _Charm_ came to visit… but that's _nothing_ compared to today! Team _Spark-Seed_ came to visit! Yippie! The leader, Ricky, is ultra-cool and super nice! He called me the sunniest pokémon he'd ever seen… sigh…

It also turns out that he's Paula's big brother! Wow! It's no _wonder_ she's a great explorer if she's related to _him_! Paula is so lucky. I hope she has fun during her reunion!

P.S. I think Laura is mad at us… she seemed really upset when we looked at her painting… we should all apologize tomorrow.

Bidoof's "Yup Yup" Diary: Touchy

Oof… is it just me, or do all the girls around here seem mighty touchy as of late? Team Spark-Seed came by today to talk to Paula, and Sunflora and Chimecho went wild over the leader, Ricky (who also happens to be Paula's brother! Golly!). I asked what was so great about him, and they looked at me like I was crazy! Then Team Rainbow came over and Paula got mad at Loudred for teasing her.

I think the biggest surprise of all, though, was Laura. She had painted this picture of a strange creature, but when we all took a look at it she ripped it out of our hands and glared! Then she fled the guild! I wonder what her problem was…

Oof… I reckon that I need to try harder if I ever want to find out how girls think, yup, yup.


	12. Ch 11: The Eastern Forest

**Chapter 11: The Eastern Forest**

It took a while for Laura to calm down, and by then it was too late in the day to get any exploring done. Plus Paula had to pack, as she was leaving for the reunion the next day.

When morning came, Laura accompanied Paula all the way to the crossroads. Once they had reached them, Paula turned back and asked, "Are you sure you're okay with this, Laura? I mean, this will be the first time I've left you completely on your own…"

Laura smiled and nodded her head. "I'll be fine. I can do some jobs, paint… maybe try to find that forest…"

Paula slapped a paw to her forehead. "I completely forgot about that!" she exclaimed.

Laura giggled and shook her head. "It's okay. Don't worry about it. Just have fun at the reunion, and say hi to Ricky for me!"

Paula rolled her eyes, "Yeah, yeah…" Then she took on a more serious tone and said, "Seriously, though. If you haven't found it by the time I get back, I'll definitely help you look for it. I promise!"

Laura smiled in thanks before pulling Paula into a hug. As Paula walked away, Laura waved and called out, "Have a safe trip!"

"Yes!" Paula called back. "I'll see you when I get back!"

* * *

After that, Laura headed back to Treasure Town to stock up on supplies and chit-chat with the residents, who were all worried that she might be lonely. Then she headed off to the Mystery Dungeons to do the jobs that Team Rainbow had picked off of the boards the day before. All in all, it was an ordinary day. That is, until evening came…

The night started off fine. Laura was tired and quickly fell asleep, curling up into a ball. But after a few hours, she began to twitch as a dream began…

* * *

_Laura couldn't see clearly. Everything was sort of… fuzzy. It was like when she tried to remember something from long ago, or from when she was still a human. Finally, though, her vision cleared a little, and Laura could tell that she was in a forest. A very familiar forest…_

_Behind her, someone was talking. But their voice kept wavering in quality and volume. She could barely understand it… but she was certain that it belonged to a male._

"…_Already there… so many trees…" he was saying. "Just think! ... only the beginning… but the name… the… Forest… _boring_…"_

_Another voice chimed in. It was as indistinct as the first, but Laura could tell that this one belonged to a female. What little dialogue she could make out sounded very lovely, and held an almost musical quality._

"_Really?" she asked. "What… name should…?"_

"_Let's let… decide," the boy suggested._

_At this, Laura turned around. She could see two blurry figures—obviously the ones who had spoken earlier—but she couldn't really tell what they looked like… except for their eyes. _Those_ were astonishingly pure and clear. One figure had eyes of a familiar blue-green. The other… the other's eyes were the most beautiful shade of gold that she'd ever seen…_

_Laura opened her mouth to speak, but the words that came out were not her own. And her voice held the same poor quality as those of her… companions?_

"_Let's name it for…!" Laura said, her voice sounding bright and happy. "How about… Forest?"_

_The figure with the blue-green eyes laughed, and Laura could tell that this was the female. "The…Forest, huh?" she repeated. "It certainly… I like it! Let's hope it sticks!"_

"_I like it too!" the boy chimed in. "I have to hand it to …! It's a _great_ name!"_

* * *

At this glowing praise, Laura woke up. She looked around, and, to her surprise, found that she was holding a paintbrush and sitting in front of a finished painting. She looked down at it curiously.

It appeared to depict the forest that she had just been dreaming about… but the boy that she had painted yesterday was there as well. He was smiling, and wore an expression of adoration and pleasure.

Laura felt tears come to her eyes. Then she got a determined look as she came to a decision. She looked outside to verify that the sun was up before she put up her art supplies and hung the painting up to dry. Then she snagged one of her other forest paintings, stuffed it into her treasure bag, and headed towards the guild.

* * *

Laura had just reached the second level and was preparing to descend to the third when she heard someone call out to her.

"Oh! Hey, Laura!"

Laura looked over to see Bidoof and Sunflora looking at the outlaw board, and Chimecho in her usual spot behind the podium. Laura nodded in greeting.

"You're up early today," Bidoof noted.

Sunflora fidgeted. "Um," she began. "I didn't get a chance to tell you yesterday, but… I'm sorry we looked at your picture without asking."

Laura cringed, recalling her actions and feeling very embarrassed. "It's… it's fine. Sorry for overreacting…"

"No worries!" Chimecho said with a smile. "Was there something you needed?"

Laura nodded and gripped her treasure bag tightly. "I have a question for Chatot."

"I think he's in the Guildmaster's quarters," Chimecho said.

"Yup, yup!" Bidoof agreed. "I saw him enter with Corphish and Officer Magnezone. I think they're giving Corphish a special mission, like when they sent Sunflora after the 'Invincible Haunter.'" Bidoof said, nodding in Sunflora's direction.

Laura nodded her thanks. "I'll just go down and wait for them," she said.

She headed down the ladder and patiently waited by the window near Wigglytuff's door. Soon enough Officer Magnezone, followed by one of his deputies, came out. She moved closer to the door, and they nodded to her in greeting before leaving. Chatot, Wigglytuff, and Corphish exited the room after them.

"Hey, hey! So all I have to do is capture this 'Growlithe,' right?" Corphish was asking.

"Yes," Chatot confirmed. "It should be easy for you since Growlithe is a Fire-type and you are a Water-type, but we've also heard some unfounded rumors that she has a Water-type partner."

"Hey, hey! I'll be careful!" Corphish assured.

Wigglytuff noticed Laura and called out a greeting. "Well hi, Laura! What brings you here today?"

That caused Chatot and Corphish to notice her, and Corphish jumped in fear, thinking to himself, _"L-Laura?! Is… is she still mad about the picture? Could she have found that I was the one that took it out of her bag…? H-hey, hey! No way! That's impossible… right? Unless… if she had a Dimensional Scream…"_

"I had a question about my picture…" she began, pulling a folded paper out of her bag.

At the word "picture," Corphish freaked out. "Ah! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" he frantically apologized. "It was me! Okay? I admit it! I'm the one who took it without asking!"

Laura stared at him in confusion. "What are you talking about?" she asked, a bit worried about him. "I just painted this last night…"

"H-huh?" Corphish asked, calming down slightly. "You're… not talking about the portrait of that weird creature?"

"'_Weird creature?' What is he…?"_ Laura thought to herself with a frown before it clicked. "_You're_ the one who took my painting the other day?" she demanded with a glare. He flinched and nodded timidly. Laura crossed her arms and opened her mouth to say something else.

Corphish, who feared that she was going to yell at him, quickly interjected. "H-hey, hey! S-so what was it that you wanted to ask Guildmaster and Chatot?"

Laura snapped her mouth shut and looked over to where Wigglytuff and Chatot were watching. Her crossed arms dropped and she blushed with embarrassment. She took a few breaths to calm down, and unfolded the picture. "I was wondering if this forest looked familiar to you," she said with a sigh.

Chatot took the picture, and he and Wigglytuff studied it. Corphish leaned in as well.

"Oh!" Corphish exclaimed. "That looks like the Eastern Forest!"

Laura frowned. _"Why does that name sound familiar?"_ she wondered. Then she remembered, _"Oh! That's where Corphish's team was sent when we were looking for the Time Gears… and where Grovyle said he ended up after Darkrai attacked us!"_

"Can you show me where it is?" Laura asked, getting excited now that she knew the identity of the forest.

"It's really quite simple. Open your Wonder Map, please," Chatot requested. She did so, and he pointed out an area on the map, saying, "As the name suggests, it's this forest here, far to the east."

Laura studied it briefly before she folded up the map with a nod of thanks.

"Are you going to explore there?" Wigglytuff asked eagerly.

Laura nodded.

"Hey, hey! Really?" Corphish asked in surprise. "There's really nothing there but trees… I don't think you'll find any treasure…"

"…I'm not looking for treasure," Laura quietly admitted.

Corphish was confused. "Hey, hey…? Then why are you going?"

Laura glanced away, unwilling to answer.

"In any case, Laura," Chatot began, capturing her attention. "It's a rather dangerous trip for a solo explorer. Especially one as young as you… are you sure that you don't want to wait to explore there until Paula returns?"

Laura nodded, standing firm.

"Don't worry, Chatot!" Wigglytuff said. "Laura will be fine! Have lots of fun, okay?"

* * *

Laura headed off on her exploration. The second she entered the forest she _immediately_ got the sensation that she'd been there before, just like at the lakes of the Spirit Trio. She also got a mild headache as she desperately tried to remember the circumstances of her previous visit. When nothing came to her, she decided to just aimlessly wander around. She saw no point to a formal search since she didn't know what she was looking _for_. She just let her thoughts and body drift along…

"_So _this_ is the Eastern Forest…"_ she thought to herself as she admired the plant life. _"Corphish was right. There _are_ a lot of trees… Grovyle and I must have come here when we were travelling together in the paralyzed future… but I wonder why. Corphish's group didn't find any Time Gears here… but, then again, it took Paula and me _two_ tries to find Mesprit's."_ Laura frowned. _"Come to think of it… how many Time Gears _are_ there? I know of five… but there's probably more, right? I wonder why Grovyle chose _those_ particular five… maybe they were the easiest to gather?"_

Laura sighed. She took in deep breaths and stretched out her arms. _"Mm… this weather sure is nice,"_ she thought. _"I'm glad it isn't raining—"_

Laura came to an abrupt halt and frowned. _"Wait… rain?"_ she repeated her last thought in confusion. Her headache became more intense. _"Wasn't it… wasn't it raining before? That time… when I…?"_ she began to walk again, but more slowly and cautiously than before. _"That's… that's not possible,"_ she decided. But even in her mind, it didn't sound very convincing.

"_If… if I ever came here before, it would have been as a human… and that would have been when I was living in a paralyzed world. That would have made rain impossible! Unless… was it frozen in place?"_ Laura shook her head at the thought. _"No,"_ she decided. _"I'm sure that it was falling… and we were running… wait, 'we?' Who's 'we?'"_

Laura winced as her headache became even more intense. She clutched at her temples as she continued forward. _"My head…! Why… why does it _hurt_ so much?!"_

"OW!" she exclaimed. But the pain hadn't come from her head… it had come from her not paying attention to where she was going, tripping over something, and falling flat on her face. She got on her knees and crawled around, looking for the culprit.

"_Oh… a rock,"_ she said in her mind as she identified what had caused her to trip. Then she winced again as her headache spiked. _"But… ugh! My head is _pounding_! I don't think this is an ordinary rock!"_

She tried to pick it up, but it wouldn't budge. Thinking that the dirt around it had formed some sort of seal, Laura twisted the rock. To her surprise it spun easily, as if it were a screw. She unscrewed it all the way and lifted it up… to reveal a handle! There was a secret door in the forest floor! Laura bent down for a closer inspection… and was shocked at what had been engraved on the handle.

"A Time Gear…!" she breathed in amazement.

She grabbed the handle, intending to open the door, but paused as a thought came to her. What if there was a guardian there, like at the lakes? She bit her lip, hesitating, but decided to risk it. She opened the door and went inside.

* * *

Laura found herself in a cavern. It wasn't as dark as she expected; the place was lit with strange, glowing, white crystals. There were shades nearby that could be placed over them to block out the light. Closer inspection revealed that the shades had been painted by someone…

"Ugh… Is anyone here?" she called out, rubbing her forehead in an attempt to relieve the ache.

There was no answer, so she decided that it was probably safe to look around.

The cavern was comprised of many small, room-like compartments. They all had doors on them. Most of them were store rooms, containing things like food, medicine, and even…

"Clothes? For _humans_?" Laura wondered incredulously as she stared at the pile of shirts in the trunk that she had just opened. She frowned before closing the lid and moving on.

She stopped when she came to a row of three doors on the right side of a large, open area. The one farthest from her was large and blue-green in color. The one in the middle was smaller and sand-colored, and covered with strange engravings that, for some reason, made her heart ache with a mysterious longing…

The one closest to her had a design painted on it that, to her great shock, looked a lot like the design that had been on Paula's relic fragment. Except… this one was in color.

The center was yellow, and seemed almost textured… like it was supposed to be powdery. The "swirly bits" that came out from the center were silver, tinged with purple, as if someone had wanted to portray that it was giving off a sweet scent. The wider parts, coming out from the center, were white like the original, but they had been filled in. Green showed underneath them. It looked almost like…

"It's a flower!" Laura breathed in surprise. "That design… it represents a flower with its petals open!" Then Laura gasped as a searing pain tore through her head. Her knees buckled, and she fell to the ground. A memory came rushing back…

* * *

"_Why did you paint flowers on it?" a male voice asked._

"_I like flowers. And you can't really grow them underground, now can you?" she answered._

* * *

Laura was trembling as she staggered to her feet. She leaned against the wall, taking a moment to recover before cautiously entering the room.

The walls depicted scenes of a spring day: lots of grass and trees, and more of the pretty white flowers. It was also stocked with art supplies—mostly consisting of paint, paper, and brushes—and female clothing.

Laura's headache began to come back, and she fearfully backed out of the room, shutting the door behind her. She breathed a sigh of relief as the pain lessened, and went to the other side of the cavern to explore.

On the far side of the room there was a mirror with a small table beneath it. But what really caught her attention was that, almost directly across from the large, blue-green door, there was _another_ door. But this one was more ornate. It was made of stone… and it had engravings of Time Gears all over it…

Another memory came back to Laura.

* * *

_The door made a soft sound when Laura closed it behind her. Grovyle, who had been nervously pacing, heard it and looked up. He quickly made his way over to her._

"_Laura!" he exclaimed in relief. "You're awake!"_

"_I… yeah," she replied, sounding confused. "I… what happened? Why are we in this…" she looked around, trying to figure out where they were. "Cavern?" she guessed. "Weren't we… weren't we just _outside_?"_

_Grovyle glanced away for a moment. "What… what exactly do you remember?" he asked, a worried frown on his face, when he looked back._

"…_I just had a Dimensional Scream… about rain," Laura said slowly, struggling to recall the details. "But then… my head hurt so much…! And… and then? What… what happened then?"_

_Grovyle sighed in relief. "Good. Then it wasn't another…" he trailed off, quickly glancing away and frowning._

"_Another…?" Laura prompted._

_Grovyle shook his head. "…It's nothing. After you described your vision, you just sort of… collapsed. I opened up the secret door you found and brought you in here. I also gave you some medical attention. That last fight left you in pretty bad shape…"_

_Abruptly Grovyle turned around walked to the other side of the room. He gestured at an ornate, stone door that had been engraved with Time Gears. "While I waited for you to wake up, I tried to figure out how to open this door," he continued. He crossed his arms and frowned at the door, muttering, "There's probably a trick to it…"_

_Laura stepped closer to the door to inspect it herself. She noticed an odd-shaped hole near the handles._

"_I think it just needs a key. See? There's a keyhole," she said, pointing and bringing Grovyle's attention to it._

_Grovyle cringed at the fact that he'd missed the obvious. "Oh… so where's the key?"_

"_Probably… you probably just need one of _her_ symbols…" Laura replied._

"_Like your bracelet? Let's try it!"_

"_No… I think you need to be one of her people for it to work," Laura stated._

_Grovyle frowned. "But… aren't you—?"_

"_I'm not old enough to be fully fledged," Laura explained. Then she sighed in sadness. "And since I'm going to disappear… I'll never _be_ old enough…"_

_Grovyle sighed. He understood her feelings. After all, he had them too. Still, they couldn't let that get in the way of their mission._

"_Why don't you try it anyways?" he gently suggested. "You never know…"_

_Laura sighed, but complied with his wishes._

_Laura undid a Time Gear embroidered ribbon tied around her wrist and fit what looked like a miniature Time Gear into the keyhole. She tried to turn it… but nothing happened._

_She turned to Grovyle and huffed, as if to say, "I told you so."_

"_Yes, yes, you were right," Grovyle said, rolling his eyes and correctly interpreting her sounds of annoyance. "Sorry, Partner." He sighed, "Well, at least now we know where to find the bare minimum of Time Gears. Still, it would have been nice to find some extras, in case we have trouble getting one of those five."_

"_I don't think there's one here, anyway," Laura said as she tried to remove her mini-Gear from the door. "It's probably like with that other cave—the one we couldn't enter. This place is _tied_ to the Time Gears, which is why I get visions, even though the gears _themselves_ aren't here."_

_Grovyle noticed that she was having trouble retrieving her bracelet. "Here, let me try," he offered. But try as he might, it wouldn't budge. He frowned. "Sorry, Partner. I don't think you're going to get that thing back…"_

"_Oh no! That was a gift from _her_!" she nearly wailed. She slumped to the ground, and, in a defeated whisper, said, "But… I guess it makes sense. I can never fully be one of her people… so I don't deserve it… it probably would've blown our cover, anyways…"_

_Grovyle felt extremely guilty as he sighed and knelt beside her. "Laura…"_

* * *

Laura looked at the door and frowned. She went over for a closer inspection… and was utterly dumbfounded.

There, stuck in the keyhole, was what looked like a miniature Time Gear with a Time Gear embroidered ribbon tied to it.

"_What?!_" Laura blurted out in shock. "This… I put this in when I was in the future… so shouldn't this have vanished?!"

She reached out to touch it, and, to her further shock, it began to glow and spin! She heard a series of clicks before the door opened and the mini-Gear dropped into her hand.

Laura stared at it for a moment before she closed her fingers over it and turned her gaze to the now-open room. Slowly, she made her way inside.

* * *

The room was very well-lit, but also rather small. Three statues stood in the exact center of the room. Laura was a bit surprised when she identified all three as being depictions of humans.

The statue in the middle depicted a lovely young woman. She had long hair, and wore a necklace with a Time Gear pendant. She had on a flowing dress, and a bag was tied at her waist. Jewels had been placed into the statue's eye sockets, giving her shining eyes of the same blue-green shade of the Time Gears. The jewels had also been fitted onto her forehead in such a way that they created a gear shape. She was holding a giant, globular gem in her outstretched left hand, but it was black, like coal.

On the right was the statue of a girl. She was ornamented all over with miniature Time Gears. They were in her hair (which was long, like the woman's), on her jewelry, on her belt… But the most interesting feature about _this_ statue was her eyes. They gems that had been fitted into the eye sockets made her eyes seem as beautiful as a rainbow.

The statue's eyes began to glow when Laura approached… but she was too absorbed in the remaining statue to notice.

The last statue, to the left of the woman, was that of a boy who looked to be a few years older than the girl. He also wore Time Gear accessories, but his were limited to a bracelet and an embroidered headband on his forehead. He had on a pendant with a hammer and chisel, and, like the woman, wore a bag at his waist. He, too, had jewels for eyes, but _his_ were golden. As Laura studied him, she got a nagging sense that she had seen him depicted before, somewhere else…

She gasped when it dawned on her. "That's the boy from my painting!" she exclaimed.

She reached out to touch the statue… only to snatch her hand back when she became afflicted with a massive headache. She slumped to the ground. She took a look at the mini-Gear clutched in her hands, and silent tears ran down her face as she tied the bracelet around her wrist.

* * *

Laura spent the night in the cavern and headed back home the next day. A few days later, she went to the crossroads to welcome Paula home.

The moment Paula caught sight of Laura she immediately lunged at her and pulled her into a hug, declaring, "I missed you!"

Laura laughed and reciprocated the gesture. "I missed you, too," she said.

Paula pulled away and noticed Laura's new accessory.

"When did you get that?" she asked, leaning closer. "And why does it look like a Time Gear?"

Laura blushed. "Well… I should probably start by telling you that I found out which Forest I've been dreaming of…"

"Really?" Paula asked as they began to walk home. "Tell me everything!"

* * *

_Later that night… in the Eastern Forest…_

It was very dark. The wind whistled through the trees and made the leaves rustle. A figure was silently floating along… and stopped at the secret door. It entered the cavern and immediately made its way to the ornate stone door. It fiddled with something around its wrist before sticking a miniature Time Gear into the keyhole. The door opened.

The figure floated over to the statues. As it passed by the boy's statue, the statue's eyes began to glow. But the figure took no notice. It paused briefly at the woman's statue and sadly shook its head at seeing the blackened orb.

Its focus, however, was on the girl's statue.

The figure studied it closely, observing that its eyes still carried a faint glow. The figure held its mini-Gear closer to it, and the glow became brighter. The figure smiled.

"I was right!" it exclaimed happily, in a voice belonging to a young male. "You're… you're really back! But… where are you now…?" he frowned. He crossed his arms in contemplation. "Hmm… I guess I'll just have to follow your aura," he decided. He smiled again and caressed the statue's cheek. "Don't worry. I _promise_ I'll find you, just as soon as I can…"


	13. Ch 12: The Diaries: Seven

**Chapter 12: The Diaries: Seven**

Sunflora's "Oh My Gosh" Diary: Sulking

Oh my gosh! Lots of pokémon are in a bad mood lately. For the silliest reasons, too! Take Corphish, for example. He's sulking because when he went to the Eastern Forest he couldn't find anything, yet when Laura went _she_ found a Time Gear bracelet. It's really pretty, too!

Come to think of it… Laura's been kind of sulky lately as well. She was probably just missing Paula, though. Hopefully she'll cheer up now that Paula is back from her trip!

* * *

Bidoof's "Yup Yup" Diary: Confusion

Oof… By golly, I'm so confused! Everyone around here is acting so strange! Can someone please tell me what's going on?

Corphish should be real happy that he caught that wanted outlaw, Growlithe… but he's not! He's too busy feeling bad that Laura found treasure in the Eastern Forest when he couldn't. And Laura should be happy that she found that pretty bracelet… but she really isn't happy either!

Well… that's not the whole truth. She _is_ glad she found it—she hasn't taken it off since! But she claims that wearing it gives her headaches… Now, I reckon that if that's true, she should just take it off…

Oof… I hope everyone goes back to normal soon…


	14. Ch 13: Kidnapping Spree, Par

**Chapter 13: Kidnapping Spree, Part 1**

It was nearly dawn, and Paula and Laura were still sleeping. It had only been a few days since Paula's return, but the two had easily gotten back into the swing of things. Laura's subconscious had _finally_ stopped obsessing over the Eastern Forest and allowed her some rest, so now her body was catching up on the lost sleep. Which is why it wasn't surprising that Paula woke up first.

"Good morning, Laura!" she said through a yawn.

Laura awoke at the sound of her friend's voice and began to rub the sleep out of her eyes. "Good morning…"

Laura stretched her arms above her head, and her eyes caught sight of her bracelet. She winced in momentary pain as a memory tried—and failed—to resurface.

Paula caught the wince and gave a worried frown. "Maybe Bidoof is right," she suggested. "If that bracelet causes you pain, then maybe you _shouldn't_ wear it…"

"No!" Laura exclaimed, shaking her head emphatically and clutching the bracelet to her chest. "I'm fine!" she assured. "Besides, this is all I have left of my past… and it shouldn't even exist!"

Paula sighed. "It's your call, I guess." She got up and stretched before grabbing the treasure bag. "Come on. It's time to get to work!"

* * *

Team Rainbow headed to the guild, same as always, to check out the bulletin boards. But just as they were about to head in, the bow securing Laura's bracelet to her wrist came undone and the bracelet fell to the ground. Paula offered to wait for her while she re-tied it, but Laura assured her that it wouldn't take long and told her to go on ahead.

Once Paula had made it to the board floor, she noted with surprise that it was—once again—empty.

"_What the-? _Another _famous pokémon?" _she wondered. _"This is really getting out of hand…"_

Still, she was curious so she went down to the bottom floor to see what was going on. As she suspected, everyone was huddled around Wigglytuff's door, obscuring someone from view. Paula saw Diglett and Dugtrio near the back of the crowd and decided to hit them up for some information.

"Hey, guys!" she greeted.

The two turned around. "Hi, Paula!" Diglett greeted back. He noticed that she was alone. "Where's Laura?" he asked.

"She'll be down in a minute. What's going on in here? Did another famous explorer come to visit?"

"Um… sort of," Diglett replied, glancing back.

Paula cocked her head in confusion. "'Sort of?'"

"What my son means is that while our guest is not famous for exploring, his species is so rarely seen that everyone was curious and had to come see for themselves," Dugtrio explained.

"Huh? His species?" Paula asked.

"Yeah!" Diglett exclaimed with excitement. "He's a celebi!"

"A celebi? No way!" Paula exclaimed in shock. _"It couldn't be _her_… right?" _she asked herself, thinking of Grovyle's friend from the future.

Paula made her way to the front of the crowd, intent on seeing the celebi for herself. As soon as she saw him, she knew it wasn't the one from the future.

Unlike Celebi, who had been pink, _this_ celebi was the normal green. He wore a golden headband on his forehead that had been embroidered with a Time Gear design, and he had on a bracelet that appeared to be made of miniature Time Gears. He also wore a pendant around his neck that was shaped like a hammer and chisel, and he wore a bag around his waist. His eyes were the purest golden color that Paula had ever seen…

Paula was jolted out of her observations when the door to the Guildmaster's quarters opened and Wigglytuff stepped out. He went over to the celebi and happily greeted him, "Friendly friend! Welcome to my guild!"

"Yes, indeed!" Chatot agreed. "We are most pleased to welcome a celebi such as you to our esteemed guild! Is there something we can help you with?" he inquired.

"Yes," the celebi replied, looking around hopefully at the assembled. "I'm looking for someone." He turned his attention back towards Chatot and Wigglytuff and asked, "Has anyone from your guild been to the Eastern Forest lately?"

* * *

_Meanwhile…_

Outside, Laura was having trouble re-tying the ribbon around her wrist. She lost her hold on it and it fell to the ground again.

"Grr…" she growled in annoyance as she picked it up.

The instant she touched it, she began to feel dizzy. _"H-huh?"_ Another wave of dizziness overtook her. _"A… Dimensional Scream?"_

Her eyes glowed brighter and took on a faraway look…

* * *

_It was very dark, and the images were fuzzy. The only thing that Laura could see clearly was a pair of human hands, holding a miniature Time Gear._

"_You must promise to give her this adornment," the lovely, and familiar, sounding voice of a woman requested._

"_Adornment?" another woman asked in confusion. "But, My Lady… how does one put it on? There isn't a pin…"_

"_Ah… this is a _special_ adornment," the first woman explained. "When she turns thirteen, her aura will be able to activate it. All she will need to do is place it where she wants it, let her aura flow, and it will do the rest! Like this!"_

_The hand that was holding the mini-Gear placed it on her opposite wrist, making it glow with energy. It began to spin, and other mini-Gears formed from it. They completely encircled her wrist before they stopped glowing and spinning. Then the woman made them glow again, and the process reversed until only the original mini-Gear was left._

"_You see?" she asked. "And it's more than just an adornment. It's useful for…_other things_ as well."_

"_How marvelous, My Lady!" a male's voice exclaimed. "But… she is still an infant. What should we do with it until she comes of age?"_

"_I thought of that!" the woman responded. She tied a Time Gear embroidered ribbon to the mini-Gear. "Here," she said as she held it out. "Let her wear it as a bracelet!"_

_A pair of male hands took the offered object, and the two other voices said, "As you wish, Lady."_

* * *

Laura's eyes snapped back to normal as the vision ended.

She looked at the bracelet she was holding, considering something. She untied the ribbon and placed the mini-gear on her left wrist. She let her aura flow into it, and it began to glow with energy. Other mini-gears formed from it and began to spin and encircle her wrist. Once it was completely encircled, the glowing and spinning stopped, and Laura's wrist sported a bracelet again. She smiled smugly as she tied the leftover ribbon to her wrist as well. Then she headed into the guild to meet up with Paula.

* * *

"Sorry I'm late, Paula," Laura said when she found her friend, who had moved to the back of the crowd once Wigglytuff had come out so that she could give him and the guest some privacy to talk.

Paula turned to her. "That's all right—hey! What happened to your bracelet?" Paula asked, noticing that the bracelet looked different. Actually, it now looked very similar to the one that the celebi guest was wearing…

Laura smiled at her bracelet. "I'll tell you later," she assured. "What's going on here?"

"Oh! A celebi came!" Paula told her

"_A celebi?"_ Laura thought, also remembering the pink one from the future. "It isn't… it isn't _her_, though… is it?"

"No, it's not," Paula said, shaking her head. "_This_ one is a boy. And he's green." She craned her neck, straining to get another look at him. "He said that he was looking for someone who had been in the Eastern Forest recently…"

Laura blinked in surprise.

* * *

"Hmm… the Eastern Forest?" Wigglytuff repeated. "No… I don't think so. Chatot, can you remember if we sent anyone there lately?"

"Let me think… no. The Guildmaster is correct. No one from this guild has been to that forest for months," Chatot informed the celebi.

The celebi's shoulders sagged and his face fell. "Oh…" he sighed unhappily. "Well, thanks anyways… I guess I'll look elsewhere…"

He started to float despondently towards the exit.

As he passed Laura, she spoke up. "Um… I'm not an apprentice of the guild anymore… but _I_ was in the Eastern Forest a few days ago," she said.

The celebi froze and whipped around, a hopeful expression on his face. But once he realized who was talking to him, his shoulders sagged once more.

"…A treecko? No, I'm sorry, but I don't think…" he trailed off as her noticed the color of her eyes. His own eyes widened. "No way…" he murmured as his eyes travelled downwards and landed on her bracelet. Hesitantly he brought his own closer to hers, and both of them were surprised when the two bracelets began to glow. The celebi immediately whipped his head back up and stared into her eyes. "…Laura…?" he asked hesitantly.

Laura stiffened in shock. "H-how do you know my name?" she demanded.

The celebi smiled widely. "Laura! It _is_ you!" he exclaimed happily. Then he shocked everyone—Laura most of all—when he pulled her into a hug, and the bracelets began to glow brighter. "I missed you so much! I thought I'd never get to see you again!"

"H-hold on a minute! Who _are_ you?!" Laura demanded as she struggled to get out of his grasp.

The celebi immediately pulled away in shock and stared at her. "You don't… remember me?" he asked. "But… you _must_ be thirteen by now!"

Laura looked at him in utter confusion. The second her rainbow eyes met his golden ones, she grimaced in pain. A memory rushed back to her...

* * *

_Her eyes were closed. She could feel someone shaking her and could hear a worried voice… it belonged to a male, and it sounded very familiar…_

"_Laura? _Laura?!_ Please wake up!" he pleaded._

_Obediently, she opened her eyes. She glanced around. Where was she…? She could smell salt in the air, and felt sand underneath her… oh, right… she was on the beach. But… why?_

_She looked above her and saw a worried pair of golden eyes…_

"_Oh… thank goodness!" the one to whom the eyes belonged exclaimed in relief. He pulled her up into a hug. "Don't ever scare me like that again!" he demanded._

_Laura could barely recognize the voice that came out of her mouth. It sounded so… _young_. "…Okay" she replied. "I'm sorry, Mason…"_

* * *

Laura gasped once the memory ended. "M-Mason…?" she asked uncertainly.

"You _do_ remember!" the celebi—apparently named Mason—exclaimed happily.

Laura winced. She was getting another headache. "S-sort of… but I—ugh!"

The pain in her head became so intense that she fell to the ground. Everyone began to freak out, but none more so than Mason.

"Laura?!" he cried out. Then he got a determined look on his face. "Hold on," he said, scooping her up into his arms. "Let's get you out of here."

"Ugh…" Laura moaned as she recovered. Then she realized the position she was in. "H-huh? Mason? What are you doing?"

A light began to glow around the two. Laura recognized it as the light that had enveloped Celebi right before she had used teleport.

"Mason! Wait a minute!" Laura demanded.

But it was too late. She and Mason disappeared in a flash of light.

It took a few moments for those who had been left in the guild to comprehend what had just happened. But when it finally hit them, everyone screamed in unison, "AUGH! THAT CELEBI JUST _KIDNAPPED_ LAURA!"


	15. Ch 14: Kidnapping Spree, Par

**Chapter 14: Kidnapping Spree, Part 2**

The little house looked very inviting. It was made of stone, and had engravings of ivy and flowers all over it. There was a small orchard of Apple and berry trees surrounding it, and as a breeze stirred through them, the leaves made a cheerful rustling noise.

Suddenly the wind picked up, and there was a flash of light. Once the light dissipated, two figures had appeared in front of the house. One was Mason the celebi, and the other, whom he was still carrying in his arms, was Laura.

"We're here, Laura!" Mason called out happily. When he didn't get a response, he glanced down and cringed when he found that Laura was unconscious. "…Oops... I forgot how disorienting that is if you aren't used to it…"

He flew over to the house and opened the door. As he carried her inside, he thought, "_Huh… it's almost like she's a bride and I'm carrying her over the threshold…"_ He immediately blushed at the thought.

Mason laid her down on a bed before pulling up a chair beside her and sitting down. He watched curiously as she curled up into a ball, and he remained silent while she continued to sleep. She began to stir just a few minutes later.

"Laura! You're awake!" Mason exclaimed.

Laura was still a bit groggy. She looked around in confusion, trying to figure out where she was. She looked at Mason, and her eyes widened as she remembered what had happened.

"Mason! What were you _thinking_?" she demanded, bolting upright. "_Why_ would you _kidnap_ me?"

Mason was surprised. "K-kidnap? I didn't kidnap you!"

"Well what do _you_ call abruptly stealing someone away in front of her friends and without her consent?"

Mason cringed once he realized that she had a point. "Oh… you're right. Heh heh… sorry…" But then he frowned. "Are… are you saying that you wouldn't have consented?"

Laura's anger seemed to deflate. "No," she sighed. "I'm not saying that. I'm _glad_ to see you. It's just… my friends…"

"…Oh…" Mason replied, glancing away. There was an awkward pause before he suddenly looked back and blurted out, "But seriously, Laura! I'm so glad to see you again!" He paused as he realized something. "But… if you were in this world, why didn't you seek me out when you turned thirteen? And why are you a treecko?"

Laura sighed. "It's… kind of a long story," she admitted. Mason listened attentively as she began, "You see…"

* * *

"…and so here we are," she ended.

Mason wore a frown. "I see… amnesia…" He sighed and looked at her with sympathy. "I had no idea you'd been through so much. I knew that Team Rainbow had done the world a great service… but I had no clue that it was _you_!" He sighed again, "In retrospect, I probably should have. It's just so _like_ you." He got a serious look on his face and said, "I need to thank you. And to apologize…" Laura cocked her head in confusion, so he elaborated, "I wasn't able to fulfill my promise… or my duty to call our Mistress to aid you."

Laura took on a look of surprise that melded once again into one of confusion. "You saw the statues in the cave, right?" Mason asked. When Laura nodded, Mason explained, "The one in the middle—holding the orb—depicts Our Lady… our _Mistress_. The orb in her hands is supposed to glow blue-green—like the Time Gears—signaling that a channel can be opened. But… for some reason, the color turned to black a few years ago. I haven't been able to contact her since." He frowned as a thought struck him, and he muttered, "Come to think of it… does she even know that you're here?"

Laura frowned as well. "…Our Mistress…" her head drooped in sorrow. "She probably hates me…" she uttered.

"What? No way! She _adores_ you. Trust me," Mason assured.

"But why?" Laura asked, not believing him. "I can't even remember her name…"

Mason sighed and rolled his eyes at her stubbornness. "For one thing," he began, "you have the Dimensional Scream ability. For another—"

"You know about the Dimensional Scream ability?" Laura cut in, surprised. "Can you explain something for me? Grovyle said that I need a partner nearby for it to work… but lately I've been having them all on my own…"

"The partner-thing only lasts until age thirteen. After that, you don't need one. Although their presence will make the vision stronger," Mason explained, waving off her concerns. "Anyway, I wasn't finished."

Laura blushed in embarrassment, but Mason took no notice as he continued, "Another, _much stronger_, reason Our Lady adores you is because you're _you_." Laura frowned in confusion, and he sighed. "I know you don't understand it now, but it will all make sense when your memory returns."

"It's a poor servant who can't remember her Mistress' name…" Laura mumbled, still upset.

Mason sighed at her stubbornness. "Like I said, _don't worry about it_. Besides, she can't really complain about your amnesia, seeing as you only got it by doing her will."

Laura frowned, "But… if I could just remember her name…" Laura tried her hardest to remember, but all she ended up doing was causing a massive headache.

"No, Laura," Mason ordered, grabbing her face and forcing her to look into his eyes. "Do _not _try to force your memories. It isn't good for you—the headaches are proof of that. Just let yourself remember naturally, okay?"

He dropped his hands and Laura nodded. Then she blushed as her stomach growled. Mason laughed, and she blushed even harder.

"I guess I'd better feed you, huh? You might as well spend the night here, too," Mason said.

Laura frowned. "I'm not sure that's a good idea… it's still early, and everyone is probably already worried sick…"

"Hey, you forget that I'm a celebi," Mason said with a smirk. "I can just take you back to the exact moment when we… uh… 'left.' They won't even have _time_ to worry!"

"… Good point," Laura said. Then she smiled. "All right. Where are we, anyways?"

"Oh, we're in the Eastern Forest," Mason explained. "I still can't believe how big it is… I mean, it was already big in the beginning, but now it's _huge_!"

Laura giggled and Mason grinned. "Seriously, it's so big that I could get lost by taking three steps outside the house," he said. "In fact, this one time…"

* * *

The two spent the rest of the day laughing and talking—although, it was mostly Mason who did the talking—and then the next morning, true to his word, Mason prepared to take Laura home. He grabbed her hand and began to travel back to the past, but then he paused.

"Maybe if you close your eyes it won't be as much of a shock," he suggested. Laura nodded and closed her eyes, and then a light enveloped the two. Once the light had dissipated, the two had vanished from in front of his house.

When they reappeared, they were in front of the Wigglytuff Guild. Mason dropped Laura's hand and looked around.

"Wait here a minute," he said, "I'm going to go see if this is the right time…"

He flew off. Laura watched him go… and then she felt the ground begin to shake…

"_H-huh? An earthquake?"_ she wondered. She heard a grating noise that sounded like the gate opening and she spun around. Her eyes widened at what she saw. _"What the-?!"_

* * *

_A few minutes earlier… inside the guild…_

"AUGH! THAT CELEBI JUST _KIDNAPPED_ LAURA!" everyone screamed out in shock.

"Hey, hey!" Corphish exclaimed. "We can't just stand here and do nothing! Let's go after them!"

"YEAH!" the other apprentices (and Wigglytuff) agreed.

"Sqauwk! Wait a moment!" Chatot interjected. "We need to be rational about this! We don't even know where…" he trailed off as everyone ignored him and rushed towards the exit, leaving him alone. "…they… went… sigh…" he finished weakly. He shook his head and scurried out after them. _"Honestly, those pokémon… and even the Guildmaster…!"_

* * *

Loudred, who was leading the stampede of pokémon out of the guild, threw open the gates and shouted, "Come ON! We've GOTTA rescue Laur—OW!"

That "Ow" was caused by him rushing out and immediately running into someone and bowling the person over, causing them both to fall to the ground.

"Wh-what in the…?" he muttered to himself as he sat up. He looked down to see…

"LAURA!" he exclaimed in surprise.

Sure enough, there she was, sitting on the ground and rubbing her head from when he had knocked her down. She glanced up at him and offered a small smile.

Everyone else made it out, and the moment they laid eyes on her they all gasped in surprise. "Laura!" they exclaimed happily before they all gathered around her.

"Oh my gosh! Where did you go?!" Sunflora demanded.

"Laura! I'm so glad you're back!" Paula exclaimed as she pulled her friend into a hug.

"Okay, Laura!" a voice called from far away. Everyone turned around to see that the voice belonged to the celebi that had kidnapped her moments before. "So it looks like it's only been a few minutes since I—" he arrived at the guild and saw the looks on everyone's faces. "—took… you… um…"

There was a mini-stare down for a few moments. Then Sunflora broke it by screaming, "EEK! KIDNAPPER!"

"Laura! Get behind me!" Paula demanded as she pulled Laura behind her. She prepared a Thunderbolt attack. "Take this, you—!"

Laura cut her off and stopped her attack on Mason by jumping in front of him and screaming, "_NO_!"

Everyone was shocked.

"But… but he kidnapped you… and…" Paula stammered, not fully believing her eyes.

Laura shook her head. "It's all right. It was just a misunderstanding," she assured. She glanced back at Mason, who was just as surprised by her actions as everyone else. "Mason is one of my people," Laura continued, "and… he's like _family_ to me."

"WHAT?!" everyone demanded.

* * *

Everyone went back inside and clustered around Laura and Mason, demanding an explanation. Once Mason had given it, there was an awkward silence as everyone absorbed it.

"So… yeah. I'm Mason, a celebi," Mason said, formally introducing himself to break the silence. "I really _am_ sorry about the 'kidnapping' thing… it's just… I haven't seen Laura in _so_ long…" He glanced at her and blushed. "I guess I just got a little carried away…"

"It's okay!" Wigglytuff happily assured him. "As long as Laura is okay with it, so are we! Any friend of hers is a friend of ours!"

Mason smiled warmly and bowed in gratitude. "Thank you, Guildmaster Wigglytuff."

"My, my, this certainly is astonishing! So you knew Laura when she was a human?" Chatot asked.

"Yes, that's right," Mason replied, straightening up. "Back when we were both humans, we were very close."

"I see! Back when you were both humans…" Chatot paused and replayed that sentence in his head. "Wait… 'both?' Squawk! You used to be a human too?!"

"Oh!" Paula exclaimed, getting a flash of insight. "Is this the guy you kept painting, Laura?" she asked her friend in a whisper.

Laura immediately began to blush furiously. She stole a quick glance at Mason before looking back to Paula and giving a nearly imperceptible nod.

"Golly!" Bidoof exclaimed. "But… why'd you turn into a celebi? Did you get attacked by Darkrai too?"

Mason shook his head. "No… it's kind of… complicated." He glanced at Laura and sighed, "And I can't really explain it until Laura's memory returns…"

"Hey, hey! I have a question too!" Corphish interjected. "If you knew Laura when she was human, then you must have come from the paralyzed future too! So… why haven't _you_ vanished?"

"V-vanished?" Mason repeated in confusion.

"Yeah! You know, when history was changed!" Corphish clarified.

"Oh! R-right…" Mason seemed a bit uncomfortable. "Um… how should I explain this…?" He glanced away, and his eyes settled on Paula. He got a sudden flash of inspiration. "That's it! I'm like Paula!"

"Huh? Like me?" Paula asked in surprise.

"Yes. You're from _this_ world, correct? This 'world of the past.' So even though you'd been to the future with Laura, when history changed _you_ didn't disappear. I'm sort of like that."

"Oh… I GET it!" Loudred said, nodding his head in understanding.

As everyone else made similar comments, Mason sighed in relief. He cleared his throat, and everyone looked back to him. "So, that's how things are. I hope you won't mind if I come over to visit Laura… but now that I've found her, I just couldn't _bear_ not seeing her!"

"Oh course!" Wigglytuff exclaimed. "Laura is _your_ friendly friend too! Everyone here feels the same way!"

"Yes…" Mason said, looking out at the earnest faces. He smiled widely. "I'm glad." He looked over the crowd one more before turning his gaze towards Laura. "Well, I guess it's time for me to go home. If you—or anyone here—have need of me, please don't hesitate to visit me in the Eastern Forest!"

He drifted back and prepared to teleport, but then he paused when he suddenly remembered something. "Oh!" he exclaimed. "Duh! I almost forgot! I need a sample of everyone's aura!"

"Our AURA?" Loudred asked. "Why would you need THAT? Whatever it is…"

Mason sighed. He really didn't want to go into an explanation of the somewhat-complex subject. Instead, he just said, "The area around my house has an aura sensor. If it doesn't recognize your aura, then you'll just wind up lost!" He rooted through the bag on his hip and drew out something that looked like a clear disk. "Don't worry," he assured. "This won't take long."

Mason released some of his own aura into the disk. It began to glow, and then everyone gasped as the room lit up in a flash of gold. When everyone blinked the spots from their eyes, they could see that the disk had become multicolored.

"Download complete!" Mason exclaimed, startling everyone. "Thanks, guys! See ya later!"

Mason began to teleport again, and he gave a lingering glance to Laura before he vanished.

* * *

After Mason left, Paula made an executive decision that Team Rainbow had been through enough excitement for a while and would be spending the rest of the day at the beach. Lapras wasn't there—for some reason Dialga had said that he needed him back at Temporal Tower for a few days…—so the two had the beach to themselves. They played around in the water, made sand castles, and then watched the sunset together.

"Wow…" Paula admired in awe. "No matter how many times I see it, it's always so beautiful…"

Laura nodded in silent agreement.

Paula rolled over on her side to look at her friend and quietly said, "I'm glad that you met someone from your past, Laura … but I'd be lying if I didn't admit that I was _terrified_ when Mason just took you away like that. I don't know _what_ I'd do if I lost you again…"

Laura stood up and stretched. "I'm sorry, Paula," she apologized. "I was surprised too. I didn't think that he'd just _take_ me… but don't worry, I—"

Laura cut off and got a strange, dazed look on her face. She weakly raised a hand to her head and groaned. She began to sway, like she was about to fall over.

"Laura! What's wrong?" Paula asked worriedly, jumping up and supporting her. "Are you okay?"

"Ugh… Y-yeah, I'm fine…" Laura, rather unconvincingly, assured her friend. A glance at Paula confirmed that she had not bought it, so Laura sighed and told the truth. "I just… I got really dizzy all of a sudden. I must have stood up too fast…"

"Or you're just tired from the 'kidnapping' thing," Paula theorized.

Laura shook her head. "No, I got plenty of rest when I was at Mason's house."

"What? When did you have time to go to his house?" Paula asked in confusion. Laura just stared at her like she was missing the obvious, and Paula blushed when the answer suddenly clicked. "Oh… he's a celebi. He can time travel. Right…"

Laura gave a weak chuckle, but she was still unsteady on her feet. Paula frowned in worry. "Come on, let's get you home," she said as she began to guide Laura back to Sharpedo Bluff.

* * *

_Meanwhile… at Temporal Tower…_

Temporal Tower was still a mess, but it looked a lot better than it did a year ago, right after the crisis. Dialga, however, seemed just as frantic as he had then. He was pacing around in worry, muttering to himself…

"THIS… IS NOT GOOD," he said, thinking aloud. "I DID NOT FORSEE SOMETHING LIKE THIS HAPPENING… I DO NOT THINK_ ANYONE _DID… NOT EVEN _HER_… I AM NOT SURE WHAT SHOULD BE DONE…"

Dialga stopped pacing and glanced back at something on the dais on the other end of the tower. He began to pace again at a higher speed. "BUT SOMETHING _MUST_ BE DONE! AND _SOON..._!"

Dialga bit his lip and looked out towards the horizon. " … PERHAPS I SHOULD CONSULT THE SPIRIT TRIO…" he said in contemplation. "THEY WERE CLOSE WITH THEM, AND THAT BOY HIMSELF PERSONALLY TASKED THEM WITH GUARD DUTY… PERHAPS _THEY_ KNOW SOMETHING… OR WILL AT LEAST BE ABLE TO HELP ME FIND A SOLUTION… BUT IF NOT…" he glanced back at the dais again, and his head dropped in sorrow. "…THEN THIS WORLD IS _DOOMED_…"


	16. Ch 15: The Diaries: Eight

**Chapter 15: The Diaries: Eight**

Sunflora's "Oh My Gosh" Diary: False Alarm

Oh my gosh! We had a nasty scare today! A celebi came to the guild, and at first everyone was really happy because celebi are rarely seen… but then, oh my gosh! The celebi _kidnapped_ Laura! Eek! We were really panicking!

Luckily, though, it was a false alarm. He returned her a few minutes later, and it turns out that they know each other! Wow! Mason—that's the celebi's name, by the way—is actually really cool once you get to know him. Yippie!

P.S. I think Laura and Mason have crushes on each other… but they're both too shy to admit it. Oh my gosh! They're so adorable!

* * *

Bidoof's "Yup Yup" Diary: Mason

Wow! Laura knows some cool pokémon! So this celebi named Mason came over today, and, by golly, he just up and _kidnapped_ Laura! Or at least… we thought he did. It was actually a misunderstanding, yup, yup. It turns out that they knew each other when Laura was human. Actually, it turns out that _Mason_ used to be human too! Gosh! I did not see that coming!

Oof… I'm real happy for them, getting to see each other again… even if Laura _does_ still have amnesia and can't remember him all that well… I reckon Mason will be able to help her, though. Best of all, Laura finally seems happy again!


	17. Ch 16: Reintroduction

**Chapter 16: Reintroduction**

Back in Treasure Town everyone was unaware of Dialga's troubles. Life went on as normal for them, only with the introduction of a new friend: Mason. He would come by every couple of days, sometimes to just hang out in the town, but more often to hang out with Laura. Paula and Laura offered him a spot on Team Rainbow, but he refused, saying that he had other important duties to attend that would interfere with exploration work.

A few weeks after Mason's introduction, Team Rainbow had plans that differed slightly from the norm: Paula was going to be doing solo missions while Laura went to stay with Mason for a few days. Paula and Laura decided to walk together to the crossroads, where their paths would split. On their way, they stopped at Kecleon Market.

"Good morning, Team Rainbow!" Verde, the green kecleon, said in greeting.

"Good morning!" Team Rainbow responded.

"You girls are looking as lovely as ever!" Murray, the purple kecleon, complimented.

Paula giggled and Laura blushed.

"Do you have any Luminous Orbs for sale?" Paula asked. "I want to explore this super-dark cave today!"

"Luminous Orbs?" Murray repeated, turning around to rummage through his wares. "I think so… let me just take a look… Ah, yes!" He turned around and handed Paula two Luminous Orbs. "Here you are!" he said cheerfully.

"Thank you!" Paula said as she made the transaction.

"Oh!" Verde suddenly exclaimed before he started to look for something under the counter. "That reminds me, Laura! Someone was here the other day selling off their extra supplies, and they happened to have a lot of these…" He pulled out a box and handed it to her. "I thought I'd save them for you."

When Laura opened the box, her eyes widened and her mouth started to water at the contents: Plain Seeds!

Verde took in her jubilant face and smiled. "I knew you'd be happy! Would you like to buy them?"

He chuckled at Laura's enthusiastic nod as she hurriedly pulled out the money needed for the purchase.

"It's a good thing that you like them so much," Murray noted. "Pokémon are always selling them to us, but before _you_ came to town, no one would buy them and they would just end up collecting dust on the shelves for months before we were finally forced to throw them out!"

Paula nodded in understanding. "Laura loves Plain Seeds, but we usually have trouble getting them. That's why we have a stockpile."

"It's probably because you two are so strong that you never need to use Reviver Seeds in dungeons," Verde theorized. That made everyone—even Laura—laugh.

Laura hugged the seeds to her chest and smiled at them. Murray noticed and commented on it. "You seem especially pleased with them today. Is there any particular reason?"

Laura blushed and glanced away before shyly explaining, "Now I have some to share with Mason…"

The Kecleon brothers shared a knowing look and a grin before Murray said, "Your celebi friend? I had the chance to talk with him the other day; he's very polite!"

"Yes," his younger brother agreed. "He's kind, as well!"

"Yeah, Mason is great," Paula said, grinning at Laura's embarrassment. "Laura's actually going to go stay with him for a few days. We're going over to the crossroads now to meet him."

The Kecleon brothers were slightly surprised by this information, but they sent Laura off with warm wishes to have a good time, and a promise to tell them the details when she returned.

With that, Team Rainbow headed for the crossroads.

* * *

_Meanwhile…_

Uxie, Mesprit, and Azelf were slowly floating towards the crossroads, having come from the beach. The three siblings displayed similar expressions of worry and fear.

Mesprit sighed. "I _wondered_ what had been making Dialga so upset these past few days… I guess now we know."

"Yes," Uxie agreed with a frown. "But that doesn't help us. Even I, with all my knowledge, am clueless in a situation like this…"

He sighed mournfully. Suddenly Azelf blinked and looked sharply at his brother. "Hey! I can feel your willpower wavering…" he told him. "Don't give up! We'll find a solution!"

At that moment, Team Rainbow exited Treasure Town and caught sight of them.

"Uxie! Mesprit! Azelf!" Paula called in surprise before she and Laura went over to talk with them. "Wow! We haven't seen you guys in _forever_!"

The Spirit Trio jumped in surprise and turned to face them. "…Oh! Team Rainbow! Hello!" Uxie said. "It has indeed been a long time…"

Paula quickly noticed that the trio's demeanor seemed darker than usual. "Huh? Is something wrong?" she asked with concern.

"Oh, no. Not at all," Uxie assured her before glancing at his siblings and opening a telepathic channel. _"Let's keep this a secret from them,"_ he suggested. _"At least… for now. There's no use in worrying them prematurely…"_

His siblings nodded in agreement.

"You just seem… a little off…" Paula noted with a frown, not picking up on the trio's silent conversation.

"We do?" Mesprit asked. "You needn't worry. We were just admiring the scenery. We didn't really get a chance to do so the last time we were here, what with all the worry about time stopping and the Time… Gears… er…"

Mesprit trailed off when she realized that she had chosen a poor topic. She attempted to cover her tracks by using her powers as the Being of Emotion to send out feelings of ease.

"Oh…" Paula said as the worry vanished from her face and was replaced with a grin. "Yeah! It _is_ really pretty around here! Don't you think so, Laura?" she asked, turning around to face her partner. It was obvious that Paula was completely under the influence of Mesprit's power.

Laura, however, was not. Mesprit's attempts didn't seem to have swayed her in the slightest, and she was still frowning with worry. Nonetheless, she nodded in agreement with her partner. The Spirit Trio caught sight of her rainbow eyes and gasped in shock.

"L-Laura…! Your eyes…!" Azelf stammered.

"Oh! Right!" Paula exclaimed. "You haven't seen them yet! Aren't they pretty?" she asked, turning towards Laura with a smile. "Apparently they were this color when she was human! They just turned back on her thirteenth birthday."

The trio looked dumbfounded.

"You're… you're thirteen?" Mesprit asked slowly. "When… when was your birthday?"

"…March 20th," Laura replied, uncertain about why the spirit Trio was acting so strangely.

Her uncertainty only grew stronger when that remark was met with more shock.

"_No way… it COULDN'T be…!"_ Mesprit telepathically exclaimed in disbelief.

"_But if it IS… then shouldn't she remember by now?"_ Azelf questioned.

"_Not necessarily__,"_ Uxie said. _"We don't know what caused the amnesia of her human life. It's possible that whatever happened could still be suppressing her memories. I'll ask them."_

"Laura, did you ever find out the source of your amnesia?" Uxie questioned aloud.

"Yeah!" Paula piped up. "It was because Darkrai attacked her as she was travelling through time. She still mostly has it, but the memories are slowly returning. Re-encountering Mason has also helped a lot."

"Mason?" Mesprit asked. "Who's Mason?"

"That would be me," a voice said from behind her. The Spirit turned around to see that a celebi—apparently Mason—had just arrived. "Who's asking?" he questioned.

The trio observed him. They took note of his bracelet, his bag, his headband… and his golden eyes. Something registered in their minds, and their own eyes widened in terror as they began to freak out.

"Wh-what?" Mesprit stammered. "B-but you're…!"

Mason frowned. "I'm what?" he asked. Then he frowned deeper as something nagged at the back of his mind. "Wait a minute… I know you three…" he said in slight confusion. Then it clicked. "You're the three that were guarding Time Gears at your lakes!"

Azelf audibly gulped. "Th-that's right," he stammered. "We—"

Mason cut him off and practically exploded at them in anger. "What were you morons THINKING?!" he demanded. "The reason you were given the Time Gears in the first place was so that you could ensure their safety in case the vision ever came to pass and they were needed to protect Temporal Tower!" he raged.

The members of the Spirit Trio (and, honestly, Team Rainbow) were shaking in fear, but Mason still continued, "WHY would you attack the one that was trying to fulfill their purpose?! And why didn't _you_ three take them to Temporal Tower yourselves when you realized that something was wrong with the time stream?! Did you _forget_? I find that hard to believe, especially for _you_, Uxie! Part of 'knowledge' is _memory_! How could you three do something so STUPID?! You three nearly caused the world's ruin! And you put _Laura_ in danger! You're lucky that Team Rainbow was around to fix your screw-up!"

Mesprit, though still terrified, finally had enough of his insults. "H-hey! Wait a minute!" she indignantly demanded. "We're not the _only_ ones at fault here! _You_ didn't do _your_ job either, Mr. I'm-going-to-stay-here-so-that-I-can-summon-_her_-if-she's-needed!"

At that, Mason instantly deflated. "I _tried_," he admitted. "But something caused the orb to become black a few years ago… I haven't been able to contact her since…"

He sounded so sad that Mesprit began to feel guilty for the low blow.

"Um…" a small voice interrupted. Everyone turned in surprise when they recognized it as belonging to Laura.

"I'm not… I'm not entirely sure what you're talking about…" she began, "but it's not just _their_ fault—or _yours,_ for that matter, Mason—that the world was almost paralyzed. Virtually_ no one _in the past remembered what the Time Gears were for. And _I'm_ just as guilty as anyone. I attacked Grovyle too…" she finished, looking at the ground in shame.

Mason rushed over to her and pulled her into a hug, causing their bracelets to glow on contact. "No, Laura, _you_ had amnesia. You couldn't help it!" he assured in a soothing voice.

Paula frowned. "But… didn't you just get mad at _them_ for forgetting?" Paula asked, pointing at the Spirit Trio.

Mason cringed in chagrin before sighing. "…You're right," he admitted. He released Laura and turned to the Spirit Trio. "Uxie, Mesprit, Azelf… I'm sorry," he apologized. "Truly, I am. It's just… when I _finally_ see Laura again, and then I learn what she's been through… I… I just…!"

"…It's all right," Mesprit assured with a sigh. "I can feel your regret," she informed him, placing a hand over her heart. "You are forgiven," she assured.

Mason gave her a small grin. "Thank you," he said. Then he took Laura's hand. "Come on, Laura; let's head over to my house."

Laura nodded eagerly and showed him what she had bought earlier, saying, "I bought some Plain Seeds for us to eat!"

Mason was less than enthusiastic—he despised Plain Seeds as much as everyone else. "That's right… I'd nearly forgotten how much you adore those things…" he said, giving her a false smile.

After saying goodbye to everyone, the two set off. Once they were out of sight, Paula turned to the Spirit Trio. "Well, it was nice to see you again," she said. "But I should probably get going too."

She headed off to the guild, and the Spirit Trio was left alone.

"…So it _is_ her," Uxie said.

"I _thought_ I had sensed something familiar about her when we first met!" Azelf exclaimed.

"But… what is she doing _here_?" Mesprit questioned. "Shouldn't she be… you know… over _there_? With _her_?"

"Who cares about that? This is good!" Azelf declared. "We needed a solution… and here she is!"

"But she still can't remember anything about that!" Mesprit retorted.

"Perhaps she just needs a little boost in the right direction," Uxie suggested. "Paula _did_ say that her memories were returning."

Mesprit gave him a strange look. "Uh… I think she needs more than a 'little' boost," she said. "You heard her; she had _no idea_ what we were talking about!"

Uxie sighed. "Yes, I know. This isn't going to be easy…" He paused as something nagged at his mind. "What was it that Mason said? Something about 'memory being part of knowledge?'" he asked.

Azelf nodded his head in confirmation. "Yeah, that's right. Why?"

Uxie sent a telepathic thought to his siblings, and they blinked in surprise and incredulity.

"Is that even _possible_?" Azelf demanded.

Uxie sighed again. "I don't know…"

"Well if we _are_ going to do something like… like _that_, then we'll need to be wary of Mason. I could sense his feelings; he cares about Laura a lot. I mean, a _lot_-lot. And, although he _is _genuinely regretful for what he said, he's still a bit… 'put out' with us. He's going to be very protective of her…"

"We have a lot of research to do," Uxie said. "I hope that she can remember on her own, but if she can't… we'll need to be fully prepared." He glanced around before looking at his siblings. "We should discuss this elsewhere," he said in a serious voice.

His siblings nodded their agreement and the trio floated off, all of them feeling uneasy…


	18. Ch 17: Betrayal

**Chapter 17: Betrayal**

A few days passed after Laura's departure for her visit with Mason, and soon enough the day arrived that she was scheduled to return home. It was evening, and Paula paced nervously in front of the entrance to Team Rainbow's base; she had expected Mason and Laura to return _hours_ ago…

Just when she had begun to contemplate heading out to the Eastern Forest to retrieve Laura herself, she spotted them.

"Welcome home!" she exclaimed in joy. But the joy quickly turned to worry when she saw that Mason was carrying Laura on his back.

"Is something wrong? Why are you carrying Laura?" she asked Mason.

Laura rolled her eyes and answered on Mason's behalf. "All I said was that I was a little tired, and he insisted on carrying me even though I'm _perfectly_ capable of walking."

"A 'little' tired?" Mason scoffed. "Laura, you were dead on your feet, practically walking like a _zombie,_ before we were even a quarter of the way here!"

"A… a 'zombie?'" Laura asked in confusion. "I've heard that word before… but where…?" She winced and massaged her temples as she tried to remember.

"What did I say about trying to force your memories?" Mason demanded in a stern tone.

"…You're right… I'm sorry," Laura quietly apologized.

Mason sighed. "It's okay. I know how frustrating this must be for you…"

"Still no luck, huh?" Paula asked with a disappointed frown.

Mason and Laura sadly shook their heads.

* * *

Mason carried Laura inside and placed her on her bed, where she quickly fell asleep. Paula followed suit shortly after Mason left. The next morning Paula woke up easily, but she had trouble rousing Laura. When she finally managed it, Laura looked around in utter confusion.

"Huh? What am I doing at home?" she asked as she rubbed her eyes.

"What do you mean? Mason carried you here last night, remember?" Paula asked, slightly concerned.

Laura frowned before it slowly came back to her. "Oh… right…" she said. "Huh… I guess I must have been more tired than I thought… I can barely remember that… Weird."

Paula agreed that it was strange, but neither was overly worried about it. They just got up and did their jobs like usual. But things soon began to get stranger and stranger…

* * *

Over the next few days, Laura became increasingly lethargic. It seemed like it took her double the effort to move and react, even to the simplest of things. In fact, one night after a particularly tough day of jobs during which Laura nearly fainted—twice!—the duo entered their home and Paula turned away from Laura for less than a minute to put away the treasure bag, when she turned back around she found Laura out like a light. What's more, it was nearly impossible to get her up the next morning.

"Laura. Laura? Come on, Laura… wake up…" Paula ordered as she tried to shake Laura awake.

Laura merely grumbled into her pillow.

"How can you still be tired?" Paula wondered. "You got, like, twelve hours of sleep last night!"

Laura mumbled unintelligibly.

Paula sighed. "Well… you _have_ seemed worn-out ever since you got back from Mason's… I guess we can afford a day off."

"…Yay… yawn…" Laura quietly replied as she pulled the blanket she got from Drowzee over her head.

Paula laughed at her friend's antics and set about trying to find something with which to amuse herself. Just when she had spotted Laura's art supplies and decided to once more try her paw at painting, she heard someone call to her outside.

"H-hey! Paula! Laura! I've got a message for you!" whoever it was said, sounding anxious.

"Huh? What do you think it is, Laura?" Paula asked, turning back towards her. Laura merely pulled the blanket higher up over her head. Paula sighed in exasperation and poked her head out of the entrance to see who it was. To her surprise, it was a very worried looking Bidoof.

"What's up, Bidoof?" she aked.

"Oof… Uxie, Mesprit, and Azelf just contacted Guildmaster Wigglytuff," Bidoof explained. "They said that they had something important to show everyone, and they wanted you two to see it as well."

"They want _us_ there?" Paula asked in surprise. Then she frowned and looked back down at Laura. "But… Laura isn't feeling a hundred percent today. Can't they show us later?" she asked.

"Oof… Golly, I don't know," Bidoof said, shuffling his feet. "They asked for Laura _specifically_… I reckon it must be real important…"

"Well… all right," Paula sighed. "You go on ahead; we'll meet you there shortly."

Bidoof left, and Paula went back inside to try to wake Laura again.

"Sorry, Laura, but I think we'll have to take that day off some other time. The Spirit Trio has something important to show everyone," she said apologetically.

Laura groaned in disappointment, but she did eventually get up and agree to head over to the guild.

* * *

The duo reached the lowest level where everyone had congregated. Throughout the whole trip over, Laura had felt unsteady on her feet, and she was barely able to keep her eyes open…

"HEY!" Loudred exclaimed when he noticed the duo. "Finally you're here!"

"S-sorry… are we late?" Paula asked.

"No, Uxie, Mesprit, and Azelf have yet to arrive," Dugtrio explained.

"Oh, good," Paula sighed in relief.

She and Laura moved to join the others… but, much to everyone's surprise, Laura tripped and fell to the ground.

"Oh my gosh! Laura, are you all right?" Sunflora asked with concern.

Laura merely nodded, and a slight blush rose to her face.

Barely a second after she and Paula took their places, the Spirit Trio arrived.

"Good. Everyone is here…" Uxie said, looking around the room. He gave a lingering glance to Laura before turning to Wigglytuff and asking, "Shall we get started?"

Wigglytuff nodded. "Sure! What did you need to show us?"

"This," Uxie said, pulling out a bag.

The instant Laura saw it a massive wave of dizziness washed over her and she almost collapsed. Azelf felt the dramatic, momentary loss in her willpower and looked over in alarm.

"Laura, is something wrong?" he asked with concern.

Laura blushed and shook her head. "I'm just… tired," she quietly explained.

Azelf frowned, but then he turned around and gestured to his brother to continue.

Uxie opened the bag and the items inside fell to the ground. Everyone stared at them in horror.

"Eek! Oh my gosh!" Sunflora exclaimed, bringing her leaves up to cover her mouth.

"N-NO WAY!" Loudred yelled, frantically shaking his head as if to deny the objects' presence.

"Squawk! It-it can't be!" Chatot yelped, wings fluttering. "Are… are those—?!"

"Yes," Uxie confirmed in a grave voice. "They're Time Gears."

The five Time Gears that had previously been taken to Temporal Tower lay on the floor. Something was seriously wrong with them; they weren't really glowing with that peaceful, blue-green energy anymore. They were dark… and almost looked like they were rusting. Occasionally one would give off a flare of light, but it would be so tiny and weak that it was barely noticeable. As Laura looked at them, her eyelids began to droop…

"Golly!" Bidoof exclaimed, causing Laura to snap out of her daze. She shook her head and tried to focus her attention on Bidoof as he continued, "What's the matter with them?"

"Did we… did we do something wrong when we put them in place at Temporal Tower…?" Paula asked.

"No," Azelf replied. "You did everything you should have. They're simply… running out of energy."

Everyone looked at them in confusion. "HUH?"

Uxie sighed before explaining, "The Time Gears work like this: The gears are full of energy which they use to regulate time in their areas. When they were put into Temporal Tower, they gave up that energy in order to keep it standing. Now, their energy levels are low."

"So… what? Are you saying we need to recharge them?" Diglett asked.

Masprit shrugged. "Essentially, yeah," she said. "Or else…"

Everyone gulped. "Or else… what?" Diglett asked.

"Or else they'll try to recharge themselves by pulling from any available energy source," Azelf explained.

"What? So you're saying that the world might end up paralyzed after all?!" Corphish demanded. He turned to Team Rainbow. "Hey, hey! Did you two know this would happen?" he asked frantically.

Paula shook her head. "No! Grovyle never said anything about that!"

"It's not surprising," Azelf began. "Not even Dialga knew about it. But… unfortunately, if this continues it won't just be time that suffers. Because of their deep interconnection, _space_ will suffer as well…"

"Squawk! _What?!_" Chatot demanded, flapping his wings in alarm. "S-so how do we recharge them?!"

"We're not sure," Uxie admitted, "but we were hoping that you might be able to help us… Laura."

Everyone turned to look at her in surprise, but she just blinked in confusion.

"Surely you studied the Time Gears when you were in the future?" Uxie asked. "Perhaps you came across something that Grovyle did not?"

Laura frowned and crossed her arms, trying to remember. She began to grimace in pain, but, knowing how important this was, she persisted in trying to delve deeper into her past. Suddenly the pain made her feel like her head was being split in two and she fell to her knees, groaning in agony.

"Laura!" Paula cried out in alarm, rushing to her side. She knelt beside her and placed a comforting paw on her back before shaking her head and turning sad eyes towards everyone else. "It's no good," she said. "She still can't remember…"

The Spirit Trio frowned in disappointment, looking at each other and sharing a telepathic thought.

"Laura, why don't you try _touching_ the Time Gears?" Uxie suggested. "Perhaps a Dimensional Scream will come to you."

Laura was still wincing, but she nodded and, with Paula's help, shakily stood up and made her way over to the Time Gears. She placed her hands on them and instantly became dizzy.

"_Okay, here we go…"_ she thought as the second wave of dizziness overcame her. _"Ugh… this one's going to be strong…!"_

Her eyes glowed brighter and got a faraway look…

* * *

_It was raining—_

* * *

The vision violently cut off, and the force sent Laura sprawling on the floor, screaming in agony.

"L-LAURA?!" everyone cried out in alarm.

Once more Paula rushed to her aid. "What happened?! Are you okay?!" she asked.

Laura moaned in pain once more before staring at the Time Gears. "It… it pushed me out…" she muttered in disbelief. Then she reached for the Time Gears once more. "Let me try again…"

"Laura, I don't think that's a good idea…" Paula cautioned.

Laura shook her head. "I'll be fine," she said as she placed her hands once more on one of the gears. After two waves of dizziness, her eyes acquired a faraway look as the vision restarted…

* * *

_It was raining. Lightning was flashing, and the rumble of thunder permeated the air. Two figures, one taller than the other, were running through the trees. The smaller figure was holding a Time Gear in its hand. But the gear… it looked odd. While it wasn't rusted or dark like the ones in the present, it did seem to be rather… dull. It wasn't even glowing blue-green in the slightest. It just seemed to be gray… like stone. More Time Gears were peeking out of a bag that was slung over the smaller figure's shoulder, and they all appeared to be in the same condition as the one in its hand. The two figures made it to a rocky wall and came to an abrupt halt. _

"_Uh oh… We ran past the cave…!" the taller one exclaimed, its voice beautiful and feminine. She looked around and spotted an indent on the wall. "Oh!" she breathed. She grabbed her companion's hand and led them over to it. "Here's another one! We'll take shelter here, Laura!"_

* * *

The Dimensional Scream ended, and, for some reason, the guild was lit up by a burst of light.

When the spots had cleared from everyone's eyes, they saw, to their alarm, that Laura was kneeling on the ground, arms wrapped around her chest, shaking in terror.

"N-no way…" she stuttered.

She scrambled to her feet, but the room suddenly seemed to pitch and lurch and she fell back down. Paula took a step forward to help her up, but Laura simply scrambled away on her knees before fleeing the guild.

"Laura! Wait for me!" Paula called, preparing to follow her.

She was intercepted by the Spirit Trio, who looked rather grim…

"Paula, we'll go after her," Azelf said. "You should stay here…"

"B-but…" Paula stammered, seeming unsure. Azelf felt this through her willpower, and used his abilities to make her lose her will to leave. "Well… okay," Paula agreed rather unhappily.

The three left, and the rest of the guild began to discuss the strange and terrifying turn of events.

"Hey, Dad?" Diglett asked. "What do you think charged the Time Gears in the first place?"

"Hm… It had to have been something incredibly powerful…" Dugtrio murmured.

"Why would Laura just RUN AWAY like that?" Loudred asked no one in particular. "Did she SEE something?"

"If she did, then it must have been something pretty bad…" Chimecho replied.

"I've never seen her run away that fast…" Croagunk noted before he glanced at Corphish with a mischievous grin. "At least… not since the 'picture' incident… meh heh heh…"

Corphish heard the implication and was about to make an indignant remark when his eyes caught sight of the Time Gears again.

"H-hey, hey! Is it just me, or do those Time Gears seem to be shining a little brighter?" he asked rather incredulously.

Everyone looked over and was shocked to see that it was true.

* * *

_Meanwhile_…

Laura had made it to the beach. By this point, however, she was staggering with exhaustion. She tripped again and fell face-down onto the sand, but rather than try to get up, she merely rolled over onto her back.

Her thoughts were frantic. _"Why… what _was_ that?"_ she demanded of herself, trying to find an explanation. _"That figure… she said my name! But… why? And why are the Time Gears…?"_ She grimaced in pain. _"Ugh… my head hurts… and I'm so _tired_… why…?"_

"Laura! Are you all right?" a voice called out in concern.

Laura glanced back in the direction she had come from and saw that the Spirit Trio was worriedly floating towards her. She managed to sit up, but the efforts left her dizzy.

"I… yeah," she said in a soft, wavering voice as she shakily brought a hand to her forehead. "I'm… f-fine. S-sorry for running out like that, I just… that _vision_…!"

The Spirit Trio was surprised. "So you _did_ have a vision?" Mesprit asked. "What was it about?"

"There… there was rain. And… and two figures were running through a forest…" Laura began. "They… they had Time Gears with them, but they looked… odd. There was a woman's voice… it sounded worried. The two had overshot their shelter, but she found them another one. And… and then… she said my name…!" she looked at the trio with a lost and confused expression on her face. "I… this probably sounds crazy… but I _swear_… I… I think she was talking to _me_! That voice… I keep hearing it in my dreams! I should know her! But I can't… I just can't remember…"

Uxie, Mesprit, and Azelf shared a grim look before Mesprit opened a telepathic channel.

"_Poor girl… I can feel her confusion and despair,"_ Mesprit informed her siblings.

"_This is bad… it didn't work!"_Azelf said. He mentally sighed in despair, _"I guess we don't have a choice, now…"_

_"I know…"_ Uxie agreed, sounding solemn and grim. _"I wish there were another way… but it looks like we'll have to resort to Plan B…"_

Mesprit and Azelf shivered. _"Plan B…"_

Uxie turned to Laura. She was frightened and confused. "…It will be all right, Laura," Uxie assured her, trying to sound comforting. "Everything… everything will be fine." He offered her a hand, saying, "Here, let me help you up."

Laura took his hand, but as he began to help her up, she felt dizzy…

"_Oh no… not another Dimensional Scream!"_ she moaned internally as another wave of dizziness passed over her. _"But… this one isn't as strong, so…"_

Her eyes glowed brighter and got a faraway look…

* * *

_There was a cavern filled with crystals. Some of them were pale yellow, but others seemed reflective. They reminded Laura of mirrors…_

_Near the center of the cavern she saw three of the mirror-like crystals. They reflected the image of Mesprit, on the right, and Azelf, on the left, kneeling beside something between them on the ground. The "mirrors" were too high for her to tell what the thing was, but she thought that she saw a flash of green…_

_In the third crystal, in the middle, she could see a reflection of Uxie. He was floating towards the thing lying on the ground between his siblings. When he reached it, he stopped._

"_Believe me when I say this," he said, sounding rather sad. "We would not do this if there were any other way."_

"_Don't be frightened…" Mesprit pleaded._

"_This will all be over soon, and then we'll take you home. We promise," Azelf assured._

_Uxie moved forward again. "Please forgive us, Laura…" he asked as he knelt behind the thing on the ground that Laura was now almost positive was _her_ in the future. "But this _must_ be done. For the good of the world…"_

_His eyes opened and began to glow. Then, suddenly, a bright light shone, and a wordless shriek of agony echoed throughout the cavern…_

* * *

As the vision ended, Laura could hear Uxie's voice, full of concern, asking "…Laura? Laura? Are you… okay?"

She lifted her stunned face to stare at him. Then she realized that he was still holding her hand. She yanked it out of his grasp and started to tremble. Mesprit could sense her mounting fear.

"_Uh oh…"_ she said telepathically. _"I think she knows…!"_

The Spirit Trio slowly advanced towards Laura and she, though stumbling, quickly backed away.

"Now Laura, just… just calm down," Mesprit said. "Everything's going to be okay…"

Laura shook her head and continued backing up at the rate of their advance. Her eyes widened in fear when she felt something hard touch her back and she realized that she was cornered against the stone wall that housed the entrance to Beach Cave. The Trio continued to slowly close in.

"Laura, listen to me," Uxie ordered, trying to sound gentle. "We need to take you with us for a while. We need—"

Azelf felt a sudden surge of determination within Laura, and he cut his brother off with, "Uh oh!"

Laura broke away from the trio and started to run. Unfortunately, Azelf's forewarning allowed him to catch her.

"No, you don't, Laura!" he said firmly.

"No! Let go!" Laura shrieked as she tried to pull away from him. "LET _GO_!"

* * *

_A few minutes earlier…_

Back at the guild, everyone was still chattering about the Time Gears, Laura's flight, and so on and so forth. Paula, now that Azelf was gone and was no longer influencing her willpower, began to grow nervous.

"Maybe… maybe someone should go after them," she mumbled.

"You heard them, Paula. They will bring Laura back," Dugtrio soothed.

"I know, but… it's just that Laura was _really_ tired this morning. We weren't even going to go out today… I'm just worried." She glanced at the ladder that led to the exit and frowned. "I'm going to go after them," she decided. "I'll be back soon!"

Paula headed out, and, just as she had reached the crossroads, she heard a voice call out, "Paula! Hey! How's it going?"

She turned to see Mason heading towards her, waving cheerily. "Mason!"

"Hey," he said, grinning. Then he frowned and looked around in confusion. "…Huh? Where's Laura?" he asked.

Paula shook her head. "I don't know," she admitted. "She just left the guild a few minutes ago. Uxie, Mesprit, and Azelf went after her, but…"

"The Spirit Trio?" Mason asked in surprise. "What were _they_ doing here?"

Paula suddenly frowned with worry. "Well," she began, "you see—"

The sound of a shriek cut her off.

"No! Let go! LET _GO_!"

"What?!" Paula exclaimed, whipping around. "That… that sounded like _Laura_!"

"It came from the beach!" Mason said, a horrified expression on his face. "Let's go! HURRY!"

* * *

Back on the beach, Laura was desperately trying to fend off the Spirit Trio.

"Laura! LAURA! Stop fighting me!" Azelf commanded as she used Pound on him.

Laura was still shrieking, "No! NO!"

She managed to break free from his grasp and begin to flee again, but Mesprit intercepted her and tackled her to the sand.

"Laura! It's all right!" she said. She tried to use her powers to calm Laura down. She knew it was a desperate gamble, seeing as prior experience had shown that many of the Spirit Trio's special abilities weren't very effective on her, but this time it seemed to be working…

"Sh… sh… That's right… it's okay… you're fine…" she cooed as Laura slowly began to stop struggling. "You're okay… everything's fine…"

"HEY! What are you _DOING_?!" an angry voice demanded.

The Spirit Trio looked over in surprised to see that Mason and Paula had arrived on the beach and were looking at them with horrified expressions. This caused Mesprit to break concentration, and Laura's terror returned ten-fold.

"Mason! Paula!" she sobbed. "Please help! They're trying to kidnap me!"

"WHAT?!" Mason and Paula shrieked.

Paula immediately hit Mesprit with an electric attack, knocking her off of Laura. Laura scrambled away, back towards her friends.

"Ow…!" Mesprit moaned as Azelf helped her up.

"Mason! Give Laura over to us!" Uxied demanded.

Mason held Laura close behind him and shouted, "You're not taking her anywhere!"

"Mason, be reasonable—"

"Reasonable?!" Paula demanded hysterically. "You're trying to _kidnap_ Laura! _Why_? I thought we were friends!"

"Mason, return Laura to us _now_!" Azelf demanded.

He used his powers on Mason. Mason was almost swayed, but he quickly realized what Azelf was doing and shook it off. "Don't you _DARE_ try to use your powers on me!"

Azelf glared. "Fine!" he spat. "We didn't want to hurt you… but you're leaving us no choice!"

The Spirit Trio attacked, and Team Rainbow and Mason fought back fiercely. It was a brutal fight, and everyone sustained injury. At one point, Paula let loose an electric attack so large that it darkened the skies…!

* * *

_Meanwhile, at the guild…_

Everyone had _finally_ calmed down a bit, and they were beginning to worry over the fact that neither Laura nor those who had gone to retrieve her had returned yet.

"Oof… you know, everyone's been gone an awful long time…" Bidoof said.

Loudred opened his mouth to make a comment… but before he could say a word, the room suddenly got dark.

"Eek! What's going on?!" Sunflora asked, looking at the darkened sky outside the window.

Wigglytuff frowned. "I don't like this…" he said. He turned and headed for the exit. "Everyone! I'm going after them!" he exclaimed.

"Wait, Guildmaster! I'm coming too!" Bidoof said.

"And ME!" Loudred added.

"Hey, hey! So am I!" Corphish said.

In the end, everyone ended up following him out. But in their hurry to leave, no one noticed that the Time Gears were flickering…

* * *

Back at the beach, the fight was still raging on. Everyone was hurt, bleeding, and nearing exhaustion. It was especially bad for Laura, who had already been exhausted to begin with.

Suddenly, she experienced a severe wave of vertigo and tumbled to her knees.

"Ugh…" she moaned.

"Laura?!" Mason and Paula called in worry.

The Spirit Trio took advantage of the duo's momentary lapse in concentration and attacked them. It was too much, and the two began to black out.

"Mason! Paula! No!" Laura cried out in despair.

Azelf immediately grabbed her by the shoulders and tried to dampen her willpower while Mesprit sent her calm feelings. Uxie forced her to look at him and then used Yawn.

"Sleep, Laura," he commanded gently. "Don't worry… you'll see them again soon. I promise…"

Laura was unable to fight the exhaustion any longer. "Ma…son… ugh…" she whispered as she fell asleep.

Azelf's restraining arms were the only things that kept her from falling forward. He picked her up, and the trio began to depart with her.

"N-no…!" Mason uttered desperately.

But it was too late. In a flash of light, the four had teleported away.

"L-Laura…!" Mason weakly called in despair before he blacked out.

* * *

It wasn't long before the guild members reached the beach.

"Oh my gosh! There's Paula! Sunflora exclaimed upon catching sight of her friend. She rushed forward… only to stop dead in her tracks when she noticed all the blood and evidence of the fight. "Eek! What happened to her!?"

"Hey, hey! Mason is here too!" Corphish exclaimed, catching sight of the celebi and hurrying over to him.

"MASON?" Loudred asked in surprise. "What's HE doing here?"

Bidoof looked around, not seeing any other signs of life. "Oof… And where are Uxie, Mesprit, Azelf, and Laura…?"

Wigglytuff frowned in concern. "…Right now, Paula and Mason are more important. We need to get them back to the guild _now_."

"Right!" Chatot agreed before ordering, "Come, everyone! You heard the Guildmaster! There will be time for questions later!"

"R-RIGHT!" everyone exclaimed before gathering up Paula and Mason and heading back towards the guild.


	19. Ch 18: The Trio

**Chapter 18: The Trio's Plan**

Mason and Paula were brought to Team Rainbow's old room to rest and have their injuries tended to. They were unconscious for the rest of the day and through the night. The members of the guild took turns sitting up with them. It was Chimecho's shift when Paula began to stir in the morning.

Paula moaned as she slowly blinked her eyes open and sat up. "Huh? Where… where am I?" she asked as her eyes scanned the familiar room. She was startled when she spotted Chimecho sitting a few feet away from her.

"Paula! You're awake!" Chimecho exclaimed happily. "You're in the guild now," she explained. "We found you two injured on the beach, so we brought you here."

"Us 'two?'" Paula asked in confusion. Then she looked to her left and saw the unconscious form of a celebi. "Mason!" she gasped.

"Don't worry, he'll be fine," Chimecho assured. "What happened to you two? It looked like there had been a fight…"

Paula jolted as she suddenly remembered what had happened. "That's right! Laura…! Uxie, Mesprit, and Azelf… they…!"

* * *

The conversation moved to the main area, so as not to bother the still unconscious Mason. When Paula's tale ended, everyone's mouths were gaping in shock and disbelief.

"Squawk! _What_?!" Chatot demanded. "The Spirit Trio _kidnapped_ Laura?! That _can't_ be true! Why would they want to do something like that? You must be have been mistaken or… or _tricked_, or something!"

"But…" Sunflora began uneasily, "it's true that no one has seen them since yesterday… and they _did _insist on going after Laura alone, so…"

Bidoof gulped. "Golly, then I reckon they really _did_ kidnap her!"

Just then, Mason's voice was heard from the crew rooms.

"What the—? Where am I?" he asked. Then everyone heard him gasp, "Laura! Where's Laura?!"

Mason zoomed into the main area and spotted Paula. "Paula! Where's Laura?!" He demanded. "Don't tell me that those three…!"

Paula's sad face confirmed his fears, and he became even more frantic. "No… no! Those three… _why_?! Why would they do something like this?! What could they _possibly_ want with her?! Why would they…"

Mason's frantically roaming eyes caught sight of something on the ground, and his expression became one of horror.

"No… no no no no no…!" he whispered as he floated closer to whatever he had spotted. "_Please_ tell me those aren't what I think they are!"

"What are you…?" Sunflora began in confusion before she followed his gaze and realized that he was looking at the energy-depleted Time Gears that the guild still had in their possession. "Eek!" she exclaimed. "We forgot about the Time Gears!"

"Time Gears?!"Mason repeated. "No… oh no…! This is bad… this is so, _so_ bad! Those lunatics… are they insane?! Why did it have to be something like _this_…?!"

"Wha…? Mason, what are you TALKING about?" Loudred asked in confusion.

"Those traitors…" Mason moaned as he slumped to his knees and pounded his fists on the ground. "I know why they took Laura…"

"REALLY?!" Everyone asked.

Mason nodded despondently. "Laura and I… to our people, time and space are very important. And the Time Gears… they have a big impact on our history. We have so many legends about them… and _that one_ in particular… it helped shape us into what we are today…"

"So… they wanted Laura to tell them about a legend?" Paula asked in clarification. "Why didn't they just ask _you_?

Mason shook his head. "No… the part that they want… it's the part about how the Time Gears were first charged. Very few people know it. I'm not one of them, but…"

"…Let me GUESS," Loudred said. "Laura IS, isn't she?"

Mason nodded and buried his face in his hands.

Diglett frowned. "But… Laura still can't remember much about your people. S-so what are Uxie, Mesprit, and Azelf going to…?"

Mason took a shaky breath and, in a horrified whisper, explained, "They're going to try to _force_ her memories!"

"Oof… Th-that sounds bad…" Bidoof gulped.

"Of COURSE it's bad!" Mason exclaimed, pulling his face from his hands and glaring at Bidoof. Bidoof flinched and everyone else cowered in fear as Mason continued, "You know how when Laura tries to force herself to remember something—even the tiniest, most recent or insignificant thing—she gets an intense headache? Well imagine that, only a _million_ times worse! The memory that they want to retrieve is _so_ deep that even under normal circumstances, if she _didn't_ have amnesia, she probably s_till_ wouldn't remember it!"

Mason's eyes began to fill with tears and his head bowed again. "Laura… she's _never_ had an easy life," he whispered. "I promised that I would protect her! But I… I failed. Laura, I… I…" he heaved a sob and buried his head in his hands again.

Everyone was at a loss for what to do to comfort him until Wigglytuff stepped forward, knelt beside him, and put his hands on his shoulders. "Mason," he began, "you didn't fail. We'll find her! Don't worry, Laura will be fine!"

Mason peeked his tearful eyes from out behind his hands. Wigglytuff smiled at him before standing up and turning around to face his apprentices (and Paula and Chatot). "Now listen, everyone!" he ordered. "We're going to rescue Laura, no matter what! YOOM-TAH!"

"HOORAY!" Everyone cheered.

"Meh heh heh... Unfortunately, we don't have any idea where they took her, now _do_ we?" Croagunk asked, totally bursting the bubble.

"Oh… yeah…" everyone agreed with a sad sigh.

"Well," Chimecho piped up after a moment of thought. "We know that they probably aren't at their lakes. That would be too obvious."

"Hey, hey! Good point!" Corphish agreed.

"Yes… but we should probably still search there… or at least at Uxie's lake," Mason said in a contemplative voice as he got back up.

"HUH? But if we know that they won't BE there, wouldn't that just waste TIME?" Loudred asked.

"Not necessarily," Mason said. "They obviously had this planned out. What they're attempting to do… it will take time to set up. They need a place where they can keep Laura secure. I know Uxie; as the Being of Knowledge, he's fond of thorough research. Sometimes he'll become so obsessed that he'll neglect everything else, like eating or—more importantly—cleaning up his research materials. If that was the case this time, then it's possible that he may have left some clues at his home," he explained.

"That makes sense!" Paula exclaimed.

"Hey, hey! In that case, I'll handle the Underground Lake!" Corphish offered.

"I'll take Fogbound Lake!" Sunflora chimed in.

"Oof… I guess that leaves me with Crystal Lake," Bidoof said.

"Mason, can you think of anything else that could help?" Dugtrio asked.

Mason stroked his chin in thought. "Hm… well, I know that 'memory' falls under Uxie's domain… and that this undertaking would need an insane amount of power… so they'll probably be somewhere where Uxie's power is amplified," he reasoned. "Also," he added, "they'll need some way to _view _the memories once they've been… _extracted_."

"Hm… I can't recall any places like that," Chatot mumbled before turning to Wigglytuff and asking, "What about you, Guildmaster?"

Wigglytuff shook his head. "No… but maybe Torkoal would know!"

Everyone groaned, and Mason looked confused.

"Who's Torkoal?" he asked.

Paula shuffled her feet and tried to think of how best to describe him. "Uh…" she began, "he's, uh… well he's… he's very old and wise… and he-he _did_ help us find the Hidden Land… sort of… but he's really forgetful. I mean, _really_ forgetful. He's always at the Hot Springs."

"Okay," Mason said, still feeling a bit confused. "So why don't _you_ be the one to go there? I'll head home and see if I have any books, texts, or… _other things_, that might help."

Paula nodded and then blinked when she was struck with inspiration. "I just thought of something else! We should let Officer Magnezone know what happened too so that he can start a search of his own!"

"I can handle THAT!" Loudred assured.

"All right, pokémon! So we're all clear on what needs to be done?" Chatot asked. Everyone nodded in affirmation, and Chatot exclaimed, "All right, then! Let's get to it!"

"HOORAY!" Everyone cheered before heading off to do their appointed tasks.

* * *

Paula arrived at the Hot Springs and searched for Torkoal. She spotted him in his usual place and rushed over.

"Torkoal!" she called. "I need to talk with you!"

"Hm?" Torkoal asked, looking over to her. "Oh! Hello there, young one!" He was surprised to see that she was alone and decided to comment on it. "Oh? Laura isn't with you today?"

"That's what I need to talk to you about!" Paula confessed. "You see, Laura…"

* * *

"…So can you help?" she asked desperately once she finished her explanation.

"Oh my!" Torkoal exclaimed in shock at her tale. Then he frowned. "Let me think… a place where a Psychic-type's power is amplified…? And a place where memories can be viewed…?" he shook his head. "I'm sorry. I can't recall any places like that…"

"Oh…" Paula sighed in disappointment.

"Truly, I am very… oh! Wait a moment!" Torkoal exclaimed as something clicked in his mind. "If I recall correctly, there's a special type of crystal that can amplify psychic powers. I believe it is known as the 'Thought Crystal.'"

"Really?" Paula asked, her face lighting up with hope. "Where can we find some?"

"Er…" he said, looking away. "Where was it?" he mumbled. He shook his head before turning back to Paula with a frown. "I'm so sorry," he said. "It seems to have slipped my mind…"

Paula's face fell. "N-no… that's okay. Thank you," she said with a sad sigh.

"I truly _am_ sorry," Torkoal said. "If I remember anything else, I will be sure to come tell you."

Paula offered him a weak smile. "Thank you," she said as she turned and headed back to the guild.

* * *

"WHAT?!" Loudred demanded once everyone had assembled in the guild to report their findings. "NO ONE found anything? Grr… this is JUST like the Hidden Land all over again!"

"I looked all over Fogbound Lake," Sunflora began, "but there was _nothing_ there."

"Oof… it was the same at Crystal Lake, yup, yup," Bidoof added.

"A 'Thought Crystal?'" Chatot mumbled to himself. "I have never heard of such a thing…"

Mason looked very despondent. Chimecho noticed this and tried to comfort him by saying, "Don't worry. We'll find her."

Mason just sighed.

Chatot echoed the sigh before saying, "All right, everyone. We'll try again tomorrow."

Everyone nodded silently before heading off to do their evening chores. Paula suggested that Mason stay the night at Team Rainbow's base, and, after a moment of hesitation, he accepted and they headed off.


	20. Ch 19: The Diaries: Nine

**Chapter 19: The Diaries: Nine**

Sunflora's "Oh My Gosh" Diary: The Real Deal!

Oh my gosh! This is _horrible_! Laura… with Mason it was a false alarm, but this time it's the real deal! Laura was kidnapped! By Uxie, Mesprit, and Azelf! Eek!

Apparently they need her memories to fix the Time Gears—which, by the way, are running out of energy! Double-Eek! But _that's_ not even the worst part! Laura still has amnesia… so they're going to try to _force_ her memories! Triple-Eek!

We've been looking for her all day, but we still have no idea where she is! Quadruple-Eek! I really hope we find Laura soon!

* * *

Bidoof's "Yup Yup" Diary: Bad Day

Oof… Today has been a really bad day. Well, to tell the truth it started _yesterday_ when Uxie, Mesprit, and Azelf came to the guild to show us that the Time Gears were running out of energy. Golly! I didn't know that was possible!

Anyways, to make matters worse, the Spirit Trio _kidnapped_ Laura! Mason said he thought it was because they need her memories, but since she still has amnesia he reckons they're gonna try to _force_ them! Oof… I'm not entirely sure what that means, but from what Mason was saying, I reckon it's pretty bad…

We spent the whole day looking for her, but we haven't had much luck so far. Mason's taking it pretty hard…


	21. Ch 20: The Cave of Reflectio

**Chapter 20: The Cave of Reflections**

The next day everyone congregated in the guild again to try to plan a new strategy.

"All right, we know that they didn't take Laura to their lakes," Chatot said, summarizing what they had determined yesterday. "Does anyone have another idea?"

There was a grave silence; no one had the slightest clue.

Chatot sighed, "Obviously not," he mumbled. Then he raised his voice and began, "All right, then. We'll just have to—"

He was cut off by a loud ringing noise coming from the direction of the sentry post.

"Oh!" Diglett exclaimed. "Someone's at the gate!"

"Maybe it's officer Magnezone with some news on Laura!" Paula guessed.

Mason's face grew hopeful as Diglett and Loudred hurried to take their positions.

"Pokémon detected! Pokémon detected!"

"Whose footprint? Whose footprint?"

"It's… oh! It's Torkoal, the town elder! Torkoal, the town elder!"

"WHAT?!" Loudred exclaimed. "Okay, now it really IS like the Hidden Land all over again!"

* * *

As soon as Torkoal made it to the lower level, everyone clustered around him, eager to hear what he had to say.

"Good day, everyone!" he greeted.

"Hi, Torkoal!" Paula returned. "Did you remember something?"

Torkoal nodded. "Yes. I contemplated the problem all of yesterday while I soaked in the spring, and as I stared at my reflection… I remembered! The place where the Thought Crystals can be found is_ called _the Cave of Reflections!"

"Golly!" Bidoof exclaimed. "Why would they call it that?"

"Meh heh heh… I think the more important question would be, 'Where is it located?'" Croagunk said, rolling his eyes.

Everyone turned to Torkoal expectantly.

"Er… I wouldn't know," he admitted. "I've never been there myself…"

Everyone sighed in disappointment before perking up in surprise when Mason slowly said, "…_You _might not have… but _I_ went there a long time ago!" He slapped his forehead. "I'm such an idiot! How could I not _remember_ that?! That cave was absolutely stunning… it was _filled_ with crystals that reflected like mirrors… crystals that could be used to display someone's memories!"

"REALLY?" everyone asked in joyful disbelief.

"Yes!" Mason said, nodding enthusiastically. "And it's not too far from here! The entrance is near the Serenity River!

"Good!" Wigglytuff exclaimed, taking charge. "You and Paula should search there today. Everyone else, try to do some searching on your own. Let's do this, guys!"

"HOORAY!" everyone cheered before rushing off.

Mason turned to Torkoal and clasped his hands together in a gesture of gratitude. "Thank you _so_ much for this, Torkoal!" he said, a huge smile on his face.

"Hoh hoh hoh… It was my pleasure," Torkoal assured. "I hope this aids you in finding our young friend!"

"So do I," Mason agreed, a serious look coming to his eyes.

"Oh…?" Torkoal questioned, finally noticing the pure, golden color of the celebi's eyes. "Your eyes… oh! _That's _right!" he exclaimed. "I remember now… the boy in that legend… his eyes were _golden_!"

Mason froze in surprise, but Torkoal took no notice as he continued, "That was it… the goddess came to this world with two companions: a boy with golden eyes and a girl with the eyes of a rainbow. Once they arrived, they… er…"

Torkoal turned away. "What did they do once they arrived…?" he asked himself. "I can't seem to remember…"

"Th-that's okay," Mason assured with a nervous stutter. "You needn't try to remember for my sake."

Torkoal turned back towards him with a frown. He opened his mouth to speak, but Mason cut him off by grabbing Paula's arm and dragging her towards the guild's exit. "Come on, Paula! Let's hurry!"

* * *

When Paula and Mason peered into the entrance of the cave, they immediately saw that the walls were lined with mirror-like crystals. They headed in… and walked straight into a Monster House. They were surprised to find that the pokémon within it were much stronger than usual.

Still, Paula and Mason were eventually able to defeat them all. To the duo's shock, the instant that they attained victory the bodies of their vanquished foes vanished in a burst of light.

"What?!" Paula blurted out. "Huh? What just…?"

"Those were just illusions…!" Mason muttered in realization.

"Illusions…?" Paula asked before she got a flash of recognition. "Oh! They were like Uxie's Groudon illusion at Fogbound Lake!"

Mason's eyes widened and his jaw dropped. Paula noticed his expression and asked in confusion, "Um… why are you looking at me like that?"

"Paula… you're a genius!" he exclaimed. "Those pokémon… they were illusions made by Uxie!"

Paula gasped. "So… do you think that means that he and Laura are nearby?" she asked hopefully.

"Most likely!" Mason replied with joy. "I mean, why waste energy on protective illusions if you've got nothing to protect?"

"Then what are we standing around here for?" Paula demanded. "Come on! Let's go rescue Laura!"

"I'm way ahead of you!" Mason exclaimed as he rushed into another area of the cave… only to immediately rush back to avoid a Flamethrower attack and realize…

"Ack! It's another Monster House!"

* * *

_Meanwhile… _

The fire in the Spirit Trio's camp had burned down again, but no one took notice of it. Laura—who was closest to it, lying on one of the four beds that had been placed around it—was still unconscious. She was wearing bandages—evidence of her violent abduction—but she didn't seem to be in pain. She was just lying motionless. In fact, the only move she had made since being placed on the bed was to curl up… but it wasn't in her usual position. She _had_ curled up into a ball… but it wasn't a tight one. It was too loose… evidence that something was wrong with her…

Uxie had gone off to do the final preparations for the plan, and Mesprit and Azelf were busying themselves with some non-reflective crystals of a pale yellow color. They were concentrating on them intently, and almost seemed to be drawing energy from them.

"Wow… these Thought Crystals certainly pack a punch!" Mesprit remarked as she felt the fresh waves of power surge within her.

"Yeah," Azelf agreed. "But do you think that it will be enough to… you know…" he trailed off, glancing over at their captive.

Mesprit bit her lip in guilt. "…We should probably check on her… I think it's time to change her bandages…" she muttered.

Azelf nodded sadly, and the two floated over to where she lay. Azelf put a hand to Laura's forehead and frowned.

"She's cold," he reported. "I'll go build up the fire."

As he went to do this, Mesprit checked Laura's wounds. She was relieved to see that they had completely healed. She took off the bandages and then tipped some water down Laura's throat.

"How is she doing?" a voice asked from behind her. She turned around to see that Uxie had returned.

Mesprit sighed before turning back towards Laura and reporting, "Well, her wounds have healed… but she still hasn't regained consciousness. It's been two days. Shouldn't the effects of Yawn have worn off by now?"

"And she can't be sick," Azelf added, turning from the now crackling fire and joining his siblings' conversation. "Her body temperature is too low for her to have a fever. She _did_ say she was tired before we… um…" he trailed off, sighing in sadness, before continuing, "and then what happened on the beach… it probably took a lot out of her, s-so maybe that's why? I can't really sense anything from her…"

"Neither can I…" Mesprit said with a frown.

Uxie looked at Laura and sighed. "…Perhaps it would be best if she slept through the process," he said. "Her memories might manifest more easily as dreams… and it will certainly cause her far less trauma…"

He trailed off, and all three looked at Laura with expressions of guilt and remorse. Then Uxie sighed once more and shook his head. "In any case… it's time to begin."

"Already?" Azelf asked in surprise. "That was fast…"

Uxie nodded. "Yes, but it needs to be. Someone is in the cave, taking out my illusions left and right."

"Okay, then," Mesprit said, turning to Laura and lifting her up. "Upsy-daisy, Laura…"

The three carried Laura deeper into the cave…

* * *

_Meanwhile…_

Mason and Paula were still battling their way through the Cave of Reflections.

Paula was exhausted. "S-so…many… Monster Houses…" she panted.

"Yes," Mason agreed. "But as I said—" he cut himself off and his eyes widened in dread when he took in the sight before him. "This is… no!" he cried in despair.

There before him was a wall covered in reflective crystals. There was no other path forward.

"Is this… a dead end?" Paula whimpered. "But I… I thought for _sure_ that Laura would be…"

"No! No! No!" Mason screamed as he pounded the wall in front of him. "It was a trick! All of it! They… they just wanted us to waste time!"

"No… Laura…!" Paula whimpered, tears streaming down her cheeks. "This… this deep sense of despair… I bet this is how Grovyle felt when _he_ lost Laura…"

Mason, fists raised, intending to strike the wall again, paused at hearing her words. "Wait… 'felt?' Feelings…" Mason gasped. "That's it! Mesprit is the Being of Emotion! Is she somehow influencing this place? If Laura _is_ here… then it would make sense for all _three_ of them to have laid traps!"

"All three of them?" Paula asked, surprise causing her tears to stop. "So… Azelf too? Hm…" She looked at the crystal wall again, and it jogged a memory. "Oh!" she gasped. "Mason! I think that Azelf's trap might be this wall! When he was trying to stop Grovyle from taking the Time Gear from Crystal Lake, he created a crystal barrier over it!"

Mason started in shock before turning to the wall. "So… maybe this…?" He placed his hands on the crystals and closed his eyes in concentration. "Yes…" he murmured. "That's it...! There's a door behind here!"

"Yes!" Paula exclaimed, pumping a paw in the air. Then she paused and blushed in embarrassment. "But, um… how will we get to it…?"

"Leave _that _to me!" Mason said with a smirk as he took something out of the bag at his waist. When he showed it to Paula, she saw that it was a hammer and chisel!

"Now," Mason began, turning towards the wall, "I know that breaking mirrors is supposed to bring seven years' bad luck… but these aren't really mirrors… and it never specifies on _whom_ the bad luck will fall!"

With that, Mason began to chisel away at the crystals…

* * *

The Spirit Trio brought Laura deeper into the cave and into the room from her vision. They set her down on the ground in front of the three largest mirror-like crystals and began to prepare her for the process. Uxie was charging up with some nearby Thought Crystals one last time while Mesprit, on the right, and Azelf, on the left, placed a wedge-shaped crystal of the mirror variety beneath Laura's head, as if it were a pillow. Then they began to tie her down.

Unfortunately for them, the crystal was very cold and the shock of it caused Laura to begin to wake up.

"_So… so cold…"_ Laura thought. _"Where… where am I…?"_

Mesprit noticed Laura stirring and quickly opened a telepathic channel. _"Laura's waking up!"_she informed her brothers.

Uxie's face became grim. _"Laura… why couldn't you have stayed asleep…?"_

"_Hurry!"_ Azelf commanded. _"We've got to finish restraining her before she tries to escape!"_

Laura could feel them tying down her wrists and ankles, and she began to freak out. She tried to break away… but… she was still s_o_ tired…

Mesprit and Azelf tried to calm her down, and the scene from her vision began…

As Laura frantically thrashed around, she caught sight of the "mirrors" in front of her. In them she could see Uxie finish with the Thought Crystals and begin to move towards her from behind.

"Believe me when I say this," he said, sounding rather sad. "We would not do this if there were any other way."

"Don't be frightened…" Mesprit pleaded.

"This will all be over soon, and then we'll take you home. We promise," Azelf assured.

Uxie moved forward again. "Please forgive us, Laura…" he asked as he knelt behind her. "But this _must_ be done. For the good of the world…"

Uxie placed his hands on both sides of Laura's temples. As he let his psychic energy flow through them, his eyes opened and began to glow. Laura gasped and her body stiffened as an intense pain started to build in her head.

Uxie let more energy flow, and the mirror crystals all around the room began to glow in preparation to show Laura's memories. The pain building in her head became unbearable, and Laura began to shriek in wordless agony…


	22. Ch 21: In Memoriam

**Chapter 21: In Memoriam**

While the Spirit Trio was making their final preparations deeper in the Cave of Reflections, Mason was steadily working on chiseling away at Azelf's barrier. He _finally_ managed to hit a weak spot, and the crystals fell away to reveal a door made of stone.

"Finally!" he exclaimed before leaning closer to inspect the door. What he saw made him freeze in shock.

The door had a scene painted on it that depicted a field of wildflowers. A young, human girl who looked no older than three or four was wearing a sundress and sitting barefoot and cross-legged in the middle of a cluster of flowers that were white with yellow centers. Her hair was of purest white, and her skin was very pale. Strangely enough, however, the tones didn't make her seem ghostly or sick; they just enhanced the vibe of purity and innocence she seemed to be emanating. The girl had been painted so that her back was towards the "audience." She was holding up a round mirror, and by her beaming face and the small flash of white reflected near the edge of the mirror, one could assume that she was smiling at something—or some_one_—behind her that caused her great joy. _That_ part was intriguing… but the _most_ striking thing about the reflection in the mirror was that it showed that the girl possessed a pair of beautiful, rainbow-colored eyes…

"No way…" Mason muttered. "How can this be…? This… this looks _exactly_ like…!"

"Mason! What are you staring at?" Paula demanded impatiently. "Come on! Let's go!"

Mason jolted before nodding his head and flinging open the door.

After a short period of time, they made it to the area where the Spirit Trio had set up their camp.

"The fire is still burning," Paula noted, indicating towards the area with the beds where Azelf, unbeknownst to Paula and Mason, had stoked the fire mere moments before. "So… that means that they had to have been here recently, right?" she asked.

Just as Mason opened his mouth to speak, the duo heard Laura's agonized shriek echoing from further in the cave.

"LAURA?!" Mason cried out in panic.

He and Paula rushed off towards the direction of the shriek…

* * *

_Meanwhile…_

Back in the room where the Spirit Trio was carrying out their plan, Uxie's powers were forcing Laura's mind to reflect images onto the "mirrors." The Spirit Trio could recognize them as recent memories. Uxie continued to add power and search deeper, but it seemed as though the deeper he went, the hazier the images got… as if Laura were having trouble remembering things. What was more, sometimes the images would black out altogether, as if chunks of memory were missing...

Laura's pain continued to become more and more unbearable with each passing moment, and her screams continued to increase in volume and pitch as she thrashed and pulled at her restraints.

"Azelf! Mesprit! Calm her down and make her stop fighting!" Uxie demanded. "It's getting hard to concentrate!"

"It's… it's all right, Laura! R-Really!" Mesprit said, tears gushing down her cheeks. "J-just calm down and…" her voice cracked and she choked on a sob. It was no use; Laura was so terrified that she was beginning to overwhelm Mesprit.

"No, Mesprit! Don't give up!" Azelf, who was also failing, pleaded. "I can't do this alone!"

Suddenly Laura's back arched in pain. The agony became so intense that her vision became clouded with spots. She began to black out, and her screaming and struggling decreased.

"That's more like it," Uxie muttered, finally able to concentrate fully. A somewhat clearer image appeared on the mirror-like crystals.

"Here we go…!" Uxie breathed, turning his attention towards viewing the memory…

* * *

_She was so hot…_

_No... No she wasn't… she was cold…_

_No... Now she was burning up again…_

_She moaned. She just felt so _awful_…_

_She winced as sparks danced across her skin once more._

_How long had she been confined to bed like this? Hours? Days? …Weeks? She couldn't remember… not that it really mattered, since time was irrelevant here._

_No… that wasn't true. Why would she think something like that? Time would _always_ be relevant… at least to her. After all, she _was_ the—_

_Her thoughts cut off as her back arched in pain. It felt like it was being burned… Immediately someone turned her onto her side and applied ice to her back. She gave a shaky sigh of relief. Yeah, she was still in pain everywhere else, but at least her _back_ was numb now…_

_Idly, she wondered if the fire that had burned her had been extinguished as well. But… no. There hadn't _been_ a fire. That had just been another symptom of this… whatever it was. She couldn't remember…_

_But, wait… was she _sure_ that there was no fire? She thought she could see a flash of red next to her face…_

_Oh… no, that was just hair. She giggled at the absurdity. How could she have thought _that_ was a flame? Well… her Mistress _had_ often referred to her as her "fiery little imp," so she supposed that the thought wasn't _too_ out there…_

_Still… she was having trouble discerning between reality and hallucinations. For instance, she thought that she had seen _him_ earlier… but that made no sense. He was far too big to fit in her room, and she highly doubted that he would have risked moving her…_

_She was laid on her back again, and she felt someone gently washing the sweat from her face. She cracked open an eye. The fever was clouding her vision… but she could still make out the figure of her dear friend. Her eyes travelled from his hand up the length of his arm and she grinned. She recalled how fascinated he had been by his arms when he had evolved…_

_Shakily, she reached up to grab hold of his hand. This was the most lucid she had felt in a while, and she needed to tell him something while she still had the ability…_

_When he felt her weakly grab hold of him, her friend paused in his ministrations. He gave her hand a gentle squeeze before returning it to her side._

"_Lie still," he ordered. "You need to rest if you want to… to recover your strength…"_

_She smiled faintly. She could tell that he was trying to put up a front for her sake, but she wasn't fooled. The fog in her head and the ringing in her ears may have been distorting the sounds, but she _distinctly_ heard the worry and fear in his voice. _

"_S-sorry," she rasped in between hacking coughs. "B-but I don't think that's… going to happen. This… th-this is the end…"_

"_No! Don't say that!" her friend pleaded. "You're… you're strong! I know you can pull through this!"_

_She gave a weak chuckle. "D-don't lie to yourself. You know it… it's true…"_

_She gave another violent cough, and she could feel something warm dribbling down her chin. It was probably blood. After her friend hurriedly wiped whatever it was off, she continued, "I'm not afraid… h-heh… it's not like d-dying is a new experience…" she paused, both to take a quick rest and to reconsider her words. "Well… for _me_, yeah… but—cough!—anyways… I n-needed to t-tell you something…"_

"_Y-yes?" her friend asked with a quivering voice and trembling hands as he readjusted her blankets._

"_I w-wanted to th-thank you for… taking care of… of me all this time. A-and for taking m-me away from that place… w-when we first met…"_

"…_Why would you _thank_ me for that?!" her friend demanded, surprising her with his vehemence. "My taking you away from 'that place' is the _reason_ why you're like this now!"_

_She reached out a shaky hand to rest on his arm in a gesture of comfort. "I… don't care," she assured him. "Dying _here_ is a th-thousand times better than dying _there_ as… as a result of… cough!"_

_She fell into a coughing fit, and he hurriedly lifted her up a bit so that she could drink some water. The liquid made her throat feel like it was being frozen… but it did stop the coughing._

"_That's enough," her friend gently shushed. "You can tell me more later… once you've rested."_

_With a lot of effort, she managed to shake her head. There would be no "later." This was the end… she could _feel_ it._

"_Don't w-worry," she said. "I'll… b-be fine. And I'm sure that he… that he'll s-send you after the… the next one… too…"_

_Her voice was growing weaker, but she struggled to continue, "It will probably up… upset… m-my Mistress, but… cough!... I kn-_know_ that… that the next… the next one will d-_definitely_—"_

* * *

Without warning, the memory cut off. Laura had regained her hold on consciousness and her high-pitched shrieking began anew. The memories being reflected once more became fuzzy.

Uxie growled in annoyance, but then he reported, "We're getting closer. I _think _that was from her most recent—"

He was interrupted by the dual scream of, "LAURA!" when Mason and Paula barreled onto the scene.

"M-Mason! P-Paula!"Azelf gasped in shock, unable to believe that the duo had found them so quickly.

Mason ignored him, focusing his attention on Laura, who was writhing and shrieking in excruciating pain as her memories attempted to scroll across the reflective crystals. He became enraged.

"You traitors!" he spat. "Release Laura _now_!"

"Traitors?" Azelf responded, sounding incredulous. "_You_ of all people should know about our orders: We were tasked with protecting the Time Gears! I'd say that trying to fix the problem of their energy depletion falls under that heading!" he reasoned. "This is what your Mistress would want!"

"SHE WOULD _NEVER_ WANT THIS!" Mason shrieked in rage.

Paula decided to take advantage of the lack of attention on her to attack Uxie. Unfortunately, Mesprit noticed in the nick of time and blocked the attack.

"Azelf!" Mesprit exclaimed. "I've got Paula! You get Mason! We have to protect Uxie and Laura at all costs!"

"Oh, yeah. Like we'd really attack HER!" Paula snarled.

As they began to fight, Uxie increased his psychic energy flow in an attempt to reach the needed memory more quickly. But the memories just continued to get hazier the deeper he went. Plus, despite the fact that Laura's agony had gone _far_ beyond the point of unbearable, she didn't seem like she was going to pass out again anytime soon to give him an easier access through her dreams. She was too concentrated on thinking about the new arrivals in the cavern…

"_M-Ma…son…? And P-Paula…? H-here…?"_ her scrambled thoughts finally pieced together. _"M…Mason… is here…"_

She desperately tried to open her eyes, which had been screwed tight against the pain, and caught a glimpse of him. A sense of hope bubbled in her chest. But then she caught sight of the "mirrors." Flashes of gold were flitting across them… gold that was reminiscent of Mason's eyes… Above her screams of pain she could faintly hear the audio. First she heard breezy laughter… but it was followed by a bout of sobbing. Abruptly, she stopped screaming.

"_N-no…!"_ she thought, her eyes widening in horror. _"He'll… he'll see my…!"_

The sudden silence distracted everyone. "L-Laura…?" Mason called out tentatively, sounding worried.

The instant that Laura heard his voice, Azelf and Mesprit felt an intense spike in her levels of rage and willpower.

"Uh oh!" they cried out in alarm, immediately abandoning their opponents and zooming off towards Laura. As the two desperately tried to calm her down, Mason and Paula just stood (or floated, in Mason's case) there, too confused to try to stop them.

"N-now Laura… it's all right…! J-just calm down!" Mesprit begged.

"Yes! _Please_, just take it easy!" Azelf pleaded.

"…No…" Laura hissed. "…MINE…!"

The room began to shake…

"Waah!" Paula screamed in alarm. "Wh-what's going on?!"

"I don't… I don't know!" Mason replied, sounding just as fearful.

"…MY memories…!" Laura continued to hiss. "MY problems…! NOT _his_…!"

The shaking increased, and cracks started to form in the ceiling…

"Waah! L-Laura! That's enough!" Azelf said desperately.

"Uxie! _Do_ something!" Mesprit pleaded.

"I… I'll try cutting off the power!" Uxie said as he stopped his energy flow and snapped his eyes shut. Immediately the crystals around the room stopped glowing, and the memories on the "mirrors" faded away as the crystals began to return to their original states. Unfortunately, Laura was too far gone in her emotional torment to notice this, and the room's shaking merely increased again, causing Paula to lose her footing and fall to the ground…

"…I don't WANT him to see…!" she hissed.

"Laura, he won't!" Uxie assured. "I've stopped!"

"…He CAN'T see…!"

The shaking reached a point where it was threatening to cause a cave-in, and some of the mirror-like crystals on the walls were falling to the ground and shattering…

Mesprit gave one last attempt at calming her down. "Laura! Didn't you hear him?! Mason WON'T see! Uxie stopped the—!"

"…I… WON'T… _LET…_ HIM… _SEE_!" Laura screeched.

Pieces of the ceiling began to rain down upon them, and Laura's restraints broke. A powerful wave of rainbow-colored energy and light burst from her body, and everyone screamed in terror. Rainbow-colored crystals formed over the mirror-ones to completely block out whatever contents still remained on them. For a brief moment, the light became blinding.

Soon, however, it faded. The shaking abruptly stopped, and the cavern was filled with a sudden silence. For a few seconds, Paula and Mason remained frozen, blinking the spots from their vision. But soon enough they began to look around and take stock of the situation. They saw that the Spirit Trio had been blown back against the far wall by the energy pulse and was unconscious. But what they were more concerned about was Laura's condition…

Laura was lying flat on her back with residual energy sparking and crackling around her. She also seemed to be ringed with rainbow-colored crystals…

The duo rushed over to her. "Laura!" Mason cried, taking her into his arms. "Laura?! Please say something!" he pleaded.

Laura's eyes fluttered open, and, in a voice that was raspy from her earlier shrieking, asked, "Ma…son? Pau…la? How did… you find… me…?"

"We got some help from Torkoal…" Paula explained.

Laura's brows furrowed in confusion. "…T-Tor—?" Her sudden coughing fit interrupted the question. When her hacking had _finally_ stopped, she winced and mumbled, "…Ow…!"

"Laura? What's wrong? Where does it hurt?" Mason asked, nearly frantic with worry.

Laura weakly shook her head. "N-no… I'm f-fine…"

"You just said 'Ow,' which means that you are _not_ 'fine!' Now where does it hurt?" Mason demanded.

"…M-my throat," Laura said, finally giving in. "And… and my head… and I'm so… so t—"

Laura cut herself off when her eyes suddenly widened and her body went rigid. She began to spark with energy. Soon enough, however, the sparking stopped, and Laura went limp and passed out.

"Laura?" Mason asked in panic. When she didn't respond, he asked louder, "_Laura?!"_

Mason's eyes desperately searched the room, looking for something that could help him rouse Laura. He caught sight of the passed-out Spirit Trio and became enraged. He gently set Laura back down on the ground and began to move towards them. "Those three…!" he growled out menacingly.

Paula rushed in front of him to block his advance. "No, Mason!" she said. "Laura is more important! We have to get her back to the guild!"

Mason halted, and his eyes filled with shame. "…Right," he said. "You're… you're right…"

He turned back around to pick up Laura, and the three of them made their way towards the Wigglytuff Guild.

* * *

Everyone was ecstatic to see that Mason and Paula's mission was a success. Once they returned, Wigglytuff immediately took Laura to her old room so that she could rest and he could treat her injuries—which consisted mainly of cuts and bruises from her thrashing when she had been restrained. Everyone else circled around Mason and Paula in the main room, both to tend to the duo's _own _injuries and listen to their account of what happened in the Cave of Reflections.

"I still can't BELIEVE those three _did_ something like this!" Loudred exclaimed once the tale was finished.

"And Laura started sparking again?" Bidoof asked, remembering the occurrence from when Laura returned after the Temporal Tower incident. "Golly! How strange…"

"I think it's more strange that the room started shaking… meh heh heh…" Croagunk said, offering his own opinion.

"Oh! Guildmaster!" Chatot suddenly exclaimed, bringing everyone's attention to Wigglytuff's emergence into the main room. "How is she doing?" Chatot asked. "Will she be…?"

"Yep! She'll be fine!" Wigglytuff replied with a grin. "Her wounds weren't deep. She'll probably need to rest her voice for a few days… but other than that, she should be all right. She just needs some sleep."

"Oh, that's so wonderful," Chimecho sighed in relief.

"And it's not like the VOICE thing will be TOO much trouble for her, since she RARELY speaks in the FIRST place…" Loudred added mischievously.

"Oh my gosh, Loudred! Is this _really_ the time to joke about that?" Sunflora asked, rolling her eyes in exasperation at his antics. "Besides… she's gotten much better about it lately…" she added, nudging Chimecho and glancing in Mason's direction.

At Chimecho's giggling, Dugtrio rolled his own eyes. "In _any_ case," he began, trying to bring the focus back to more serious matters. "Now that Laura is safe, I suggest we switch our focus to the Time Gears."

Everyone immediately sobered up and looked towards Wigglytuff's chambers, where the Time Gears had been moved.

"…Hey, hey! Do you… do you think it worked?" Corphish asked, getting everyone's attention. "Do you think that Laura remembers how to—"

"I can't BELIEVE you!" Mason cried out in fury. "Are you seriously _defending_ those three?!"

"No!" Corphish answered, shaking his head emphatically. "What they did was wrong, but hey, hey! You told us that she knew the answer… so shouldn't we ask her if she remembers?"

"We don't know _what_ she'll remember!" Mason said, still glaring at him. "For all we know, that idiotic plan could have given her _brain damage_! And she's _always_ had problems with…" he trailed off, sighing in sadness.

Paula frowned. "…Hey, Mason," she said. "Didn't you say that there were other people who knew the secret?"

Bidoof blinked in realization. "Yup, yup! He sure did!" he confirmed.

"So why don't we ask _them_ how to recharge the Time Gears?" Paula asked looking towards Mason.

"…I'd like to. I really, _really _would… "Mason said, clenching his eyes shut in despair. "But the only other person who knows is our Mistress… and I lost contact with her _years_ ago!"

"_WHAT_?!"

"Oh no!"

"S-so what should we do…?"

Wigglytuff looked at the crowd's expressions of worry and fear and decided to take control of the situation. "Everyone, we should worry about this tomorrow," he said firmly. "Tonight, we need to get some rest."

His apprentices nodded grudgingly, and Paula turned to Mason.

"Mason, do you want to stay the night with me?" she asked.

Mason glanced with worry in the direction of the crew rooms. "I'd… I'd rather stay with Laura…" he admitted.

"I think you should stay with Paula tonight," Chatot said gently. "You need to rest too, and you can't do that if you spend all night fretting over Laura."

Mason frowned. "But…" he began, only to be cut off by Wigglytuff.

"Don't worry! We'll take good care of her," he assured.

Mason sighed again, but finally agreed to go with Paula.

Wigglytuff, Chatot, and Chimecho took up a rotation for sitting up with Laura… but she didn't stir even once through the night, and she didn't curl up even a fraction…


	23. Ch 22: The Diaries: Ten

**Chapter 22: The Diaries: Ten**

Sunflora's "Oh My Gosh" Diary: Rescued!

Oh my gosh! This is so wonderful! Paula and Mason… they were able to rescue Laura! Yippee! She's sleeping in her old room now.

From what Paula told us, it seems like Laura had a really hard time. She'll probably have a massive headache and sore throat when she wakes up… poor Laura.

Anyways… we may have solved one crisis, but we still have another. What are we going to do about the Time Gears…?

* * *

Bidoof's "Yup Yup" Diary: Lucky Chimecho

Oof… Chimecho is so lucky, yup, yup. Mason and Paula brought Laura home today, and everyone wants to see her… but Chimecho is the only apprentice allowed in the room! Corphish complained about it, and Chatot said that he didn't want a repeat of the night Laura finally returned after the Temporal Tower incident. Speaking of which, Laura was sparking that time too…


	24. Ch 23: Sleepy Reunions

**Chapter 23: Sleepy Reunions**

A few days passed. No one in the guild had any luck finding information about the Time Gears, and Laura remained unconscious. Mason kept a near constant vigil by Laura's side during the day, but the members of the guild always forced him to go home with Paula at night so that he would eat something and get some rest.

On one particular day as Mason and Paula began their usual trek to the guild, they were stopped by Kangaskhan from Kangaskhan Storage.

"Hey Sweeties!" she called out cheerfully. "Are you off to visit Laura again?"

"Yes, that's right," Paula affirmed.

"Has she woken up yet?"

Mason shook his head sadly. "…We don't know," he softly admitted.

"…I see," Kangaskhan said, sounding a bit downcast. But then she shook it off and smiled brightly. "Well, perhaps the thought of eating _these_ will tempt her awake?" she asked as she handed Paula a small drawstring bag.

"Wow!" Paula exclaimed as she opened the bag to view the contents. "_More_ Plain Seeds? It seems like everyone in town has been giving us some! They've completely filled up our treasure bag!"

Kangaskhan gave a gentle laugh. "Well, we all know how much she adores them…"

"_And I suspect that many pokémon are just using this as an excuse to get rid of them…"_ Mason thought dryly, rolling his eyes.

"Anyways," Kangaskhan began, bringing Mason back into focus. "Tell her that I said hello and that I hope to see her back here soon!"

"Okay, we will!" Paula assured. "And thank you!"

With that the duo continued heading towards the guild. But just as they reached the crossroads, they spotted the very distracted and worried-looking Chatot coming down the stairs.

"Chatot! Hi!" Paula called.

Chatot gave a startled jolt before noticing the two. "…Oh… I was just coming to get you two…" he mumbled.

"…Why? Did something… did something happen to Laura?!" Mason asked desperately, beginning to panic.

Chatot shook his head and Mason relaxed a bit… only to become frantic once more when Chatot explained, "No… in fact, _that's_ the problem. Laura… she's still asleep!"

* * *

When Mason and Paula burst into Laura's room, they saw that everyone had gathered around her. She looked deceptively peaceful as she slept under a mountain of blankets, with the one from Drowzee—which Paula had brought a few days ago, hoping that Laura would appreciate and respond to the familiarity—on top.

"It's been days…" Paula said in dismay. "Why hasn't she woken up yet…?"

"Not even Loudred's annoyingly loud voice could wake her…" Sunflora said.

Loudred opened his mouth to give an irate retort to Sunflora's comment, but he was cut off when Chimecho reported, "She hasn't moved once, and no matter how many blankets we pile on her, she still feels cold…"

"No…" Mason whispered, sounding distraught. "Is… is it a coma…?"

"A COMA? What's THAT?" Loudred asked.

Mason sighed before explaining, in a voice devoid of emotion, "…It's a condition where someone sleeps and sleeps… but nothing you do can awaken them. Unless it's medically induced, humans can be rendered comatose by illness or," he gulped, "s-severe head trauma."

"Golly! This is just like Azurill!" Bidoof remarked. "Oof… You don't think Darkrai came back… do you?"

"Oh my gosh! I _hope_ not!" Sunflora exclaimed, sounding horrified at the thought.

"Hey, hey! I have an idea!" Corphish suddenly exclaimed, causing everyone to look at him hopefully. "Why don't we call Cresselia? She helped Azurill when _he_ couldn't wake up!"

"Yeah! That's a _great_ idea!" Paula said.

"But… how will we reach her?" Chimecho asked. "I know she briefly joined your team… but didn't her duties as the Lunar Pokémon force her to quit?"

"Yeah, but she gave me and Laura this item called the Lunar Wing which she said would allow us to 'draw on her powers' so that we could prevent nightmares or contact her," Paula explained.

"Indeed? How does it work?" Dugtrio asked.

"Well," Paula began, "she said something about…"

While everyone else was occupied discussing the item, Mason busied himself with making sure that Laura was comfortable. As he rearranged her blankets, he noticed that his bracelet wasn't glowing at her proximity. He frowned in confusion before moving it closer. It began to glow… but only a little. The he got a sudden stroke of understanding.

"…all right with you?" Paula asked, turning to face him. When he didn't respond, she frowned. "…Mason?"

Mason blinked and turned towards her. "Sorry… what?"

"Is it all right with you if we ask Cresselia for help?" she repeated. "She might be able to wake Laura, but she'll have to go into her mind to do it. I know how you feel about that, so…"

"Yeah, that's… that's fine," Mason said, sounding rather distracted. He glanced back at Laura before drifting backwards and saying, "Um… If you'll excuse me, I have to go do… something."

Everyone stared quizzically at him, but before they could ask anything, he teleported away in a flash of light.

Dugtrio rolled his eyes. "In any case… let us summon Cresselia."

* * *

It didn't take long for Cresselia to arrive, and after a brief explanation of the events that had led to Laura's current state, she began her examination.

"…So you say she has been sleeping like this for days?" Cresselia asked.

"Yes," Chatot confirmed. "She doesn't _appear_ to be having a nightmare, but…"

"Can you help her?" Paula pleaded.

Cresselia nodded. "Yes," she assured. "I will see what's wrong."

"Oh, but be careful!" Sunflora cautioned. "She had that thing with her memories, so…"

"Yes, I will be careful," Cresselia said.

With that, she entered Laura's dreams. Everyone watched hopefully… but after a few moments Laura suddenly went rigid and began to spark with energy. In a flash of light, Cresselia was forced out. She screamed as she was slammed against the far wall.

"Squawk! M-Miss Cresselia?! What happened?!" Chatot spluttered.

"She… she pushed me out…" Cresselia panted, her voice faint with disbelief.

Her disbelief was mirrored by Paula. "What?! She… she pushed you out? But she's… she's asleep! How could…?"

Cresselia shook herself off before explaining, "…It is possible for those with a strong mind or subconscious to recognize when their dreams are being manipulated, and they often mount a defense in response. This is what happened with Laura in the Dark Crater when she recognized Darkrai's trick. But… I don't think that is the case this time."

"Oh, oh?" Wigglytuff asked, sounding curious. "Why not?"

"Because," Cresselia said, "Laura… you can't really classify her as being asleep."

Everyone looked at her incredulously before Loudred blurted out, "WHAT?! What do you MEAN she's not sleeping? Look at her! She sure isn't AWAKE!"

"Yes, it's true that she isn't conscious," Cresselia agreed, "but when people sleep, they dream. There is activity in their minds. But in Laura's… there is almost nothing." Cresselia ignored everyone's still-incredulous stares and turned back to look at Laura, continuing, "The instant I tried to use my powers to force her out, everything began to shake and _she_ forced _me_ out instead. But I think that, in this case, it was more of an instinctual act than a conscious decision…"

"Oh my gosh!" Sunflora exclaimed. "I wonder if that's why she started sparking?"

"Although, after the 'incident,' it should not be surprising that she would not tolerate a display of force where her mind is concerned…" Dugtrio mused.

"Oof… but why do you reckon her mind is empty like that?" Bidoof questioned, glancing uneasily at Laura.

"And, hey, hey! What are we supposed to do _now_ to get her to wake up?!" Corphish demanded.

"I wonder…" Cresselia murmured, studying Laura. After a moment she turned to Paula and asked, "Paula… with Azurill wasn't there another pokémon you sent into his dreams before me?"

Paula blinked. "Do you mean Drowzee?" she asked.

Cresselia nodded her head, seeming satisfied with something. "Yes… _he_ might be able to rouse Laura."

Paula started in surprise before frowning. "But… Drowzee isn't nearly as powerful as _you_ are…"

"Exactly," Cresselia said. Everyone's confused stares prompted her to explain, "That might make Laura more likely to tolerate his intrusion in her mind."

"Oh!" Loudred exclaimed. "I GET it!"

Diglett frowned. "But Miss Cresselia… I thought that you said Laura's mind was nearly empty. So even if Drowzee goes in… what would he be able to do?"

"Right before I was forced out, I sensed a presence," Cresselia explained. "It was very faint… but it was there."

"Do… do you think it was Laura?" Chimecho hesitantly asked.

Cresselia frowned and turned back towards the unconscious treecko. "I do not know," she confessed. "But if Drowzee were to go into her mind, I am fairly certain that he would be able to communicate with it. It might provide him with some insight on Laura's current condition."

"My, my! Once more we must commend you for your excellent plan!" Chatot told her.

"Yeah… it's a GREAT plan…" Loudred said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "There's just ONE problem. Drowzee is TRAVELING the world. NO ONE KNOWS WHERE HE IS!"

Everyone gave various exclamations of dismay when they realized that he was right, but Paula merely frowned as something nagged at her mind.

Then it clicked. "Wait… Marill and Azurill might," she said, causing everyone to silence and turn their attention to her, their expressions demanding an explanation. She obliged, "He writes letters to them sometimes. Like when he was in the Chilly Valley; he sent them a letter and a package to give to us." She pointed to the top blanket on the heap covering Laura's body. "That's where we got Laura's blanket." Then she sighed, "But… that was over a month ago, on her birthday. I doubt he'd still be there…"

"But maybe he's sent another letter since then!" Sunflora exclaimed hopefully. "You should ask Marill and Azurilll!"

"Okay! I'll go right now and see if they're in town!" Paula said before rushing off.

* * *

_Meanwhile… in Treasure Town…_

"Marill! Wait for me!" Azurill called out to his older brother, who had hurried on ahead of him to reach the Kecleon Market.

"Hurry up, Azurill!" Marill called back.

"Why hello there, Marill and Azurill!" Verde greeted, chuckling in amusement at the brothers' antics.

"Hi, Misters Kecleon!" the two greeted in return.

Murray smiled warmly at the duo. "And what can we do for you today?" he asked.

"Mommy sent us to get some Oran Berries!" Azurill said cheerfully.

Verde went to get the items and asked, "And how is your mother doing lately?"

"She's doing well!" Marill answered.

At that moment, Wobuffet and Wynaut approached.

"Hello!" Wynaut said. "Do you have any Plain Seeds for sale?"

"Plain Seeds? Were you, by any chance, planning on giving them to Laura?" Murray asked knowingly.

"That's right!" Wobuffet exclaimed.

Wynaut nodded. "Usually Plain Seeds are the first items to get recycled… but I think that lately everyone has been giving them to Laura."

"Same here!" Verde said with a chuckle. "In fact, we don't have any left in stock!"

Marill frowned in confusion. "Why is everyone giving Laura Plain Seeds?" he asked.

The smile dropped from Verde's face and he sighed sadly. "You see…"

He was suddenly cut off when Paula rushed over, yelling, "Marill! Azurill! I need to talk to you!"

"Oh! Paula!" Verde exclaimed, surprised by Paula's abrupt entrance. But at the sight of her frantic face, he frowned and worriedly asked, "How is Laura doing?"

Paula shook her head. "It's no good… she's still asleep!"

"What?" Wynaut spluttered. "But… hasn't it been _days_ already?"

"That's right!" Wobuffet affirmed, sounding worried.

"Huh?" Marill asked, looking from Paula to the other adults. "Laura… has been sleeping for days? You mean… like Azurill that one time?"

"Exactly!" Paula nodded. "And that's what I need to talk to you about! Azurill, do you remember how we sent Drowzee into your dreams?" When Azurill frowned and nodded hesitantly, Paula continued, "Well Cresselia thinks that if we do the same thing for Laura, he might be able to help her!"

"Really?!" The brothers asked, eyes wide and shining with hope.

"Yeah! But the problem is that we don't know where he is," Paula explained. "Has he sent you any letters recently?"

"Yeah! A few days ago!" Azurill said. Then he rummaged in the shopping bag and pulled something out, handing it to Paula. "Here!"

"Thank you!" Paula said with gratitude. "I'll be sure to return it later!"

As she sped off back towards the guild, Wynaut called out, "And why not stop by when she's feeling better? Spinda and everyone at the café have been worrying about her!"

"That's right!" Wobuffet added.

"Yes! We will!" Paula called back, her voice faint from how far away she'd gotten.

* * *

Back in the room where Laura was resting, everyone waited impatiently while Chatot read the letter silently to himself.

"…All right," he said when he was done. "It says here that Drowzee is writing from the Arid Plains."

"The Arid Plains?" Paula repeated. "Okay, if you just show me where that is, then I'll go—"

Chatot cut her off, "_But_… it also says that he's headed off somewhere else in a few days, and it doesn't specify where."

"Oh my gosh! Didn't Marill and Azurill tell you that they'd received this letter a few days ago?" Sunflora wondered with worry.

"Then by now he could already be long gone from the plains!" Dugtrio exclaimed.

Everyone began to chatter with worry before Wigglytuff stepped in. "Everyone… calm down," he said. "He didn't specify when he was leaving, so if we hurry, then there's a chance that he might still be there."

"Right!" Paula said. "Okay, so I'll—"

She was cut off again when a flash of light lit up the room. When it dissipated, everyone saw that Mason had appeared, looking haggard and worn. Cresselia seemed the most surprised to see him, and as she studied him, she frowned. For some reason, he looked very familiar to her…

"Mason! You're back! Where did you go?" Chimecho asked.

"I… I was looking for… something," Mason replied evasively. The he sighed. "But I… I couldn't find any… Did… did you have any luck?" he asked desperately.

Paula shook her head sadly. "No… Cresselia couldn't do it, so now we have to go find Drowzee. Hopefully he's still in the Arid Plains…"

"The Arid Plains…" Mason muttered in recognition. "There are many Ground- and Rock-types there. Let me go with you! I'm part Grass-type, so I'll be effective where you aren't!"

"Okay! Thanks Mason!" Paula said in gratitude.

"Ah ha!" Cresselia suddenly exclaimed, startling everyone. They turned to her in confusion, but she was too focused on Mason to notice. "Mason! I remember! Those eyes… are you _him_? That boy…"

Mason jolted before nodding and giving her a warning look. Cresselia looked smug for a moment before she became filled with dread as she realized something else. The color drained from her face and she whipped back around to stare at Laura in horror. "No…" she whimpered. "Then does that mean…? Is Laura…?" she turned back towards Mason for answers, and he nodded and gave her an even fiercer look. "She doesn't remember… does she?" Cresselia whispered sadly. Mason's eyes filled with pain and he shook his head.

Loudred had enough of the cryptic statements. "What are you two TALKING about?" he demanded.

"…It's not important," Mason said before grabbing Paula's arm and dragging her towards the exit. "We're wasting time. Let's go!"

* * *

The two headed off. Paula was surprised to note that the Arid Plains looked a lot like the Northern Desert. And Mason hadn't been kidding about the number of Ground- and Rock-types. At least there weren't any sandstorms. Unfortunately, there _were_ a lot of Monster Houses.

"You're so strong…" Paula said in awe as she watched Mason take down a ryhorn with his Magical Leaf attack. "I'm sorry that I'm not much help…"

"It's fine," Mason assured. "This place is hard on Electric-types like you."

The two continued on, and Mason decided to satisfy the curiosity that he had been feeling since the journey started. "So… who's this 'Drowzee' character that we're trying to find?" he asked.

"Oh! Yeah!" Paula exclaimed, remembering that Mason had never met him. "Well… the first time that Laura and I encountered him, he was an outlaw who was picking on Azurill…"

"What?!" Mason demanded. "We're getting help from an _outlaw_?!"

"W-well, yeah… _technically_…" Paula mumbled nervously. "B-but it's okay now!" she assured. "He helped us out when Darkrai invaded Azurill's dreams, so now we're friends. He even gave Laura that blanket with the rainbows. I think it's because of our team name: Team Rainbow."

"…I've been meaning to ask… is Laura the one who came up with the name?" Mason questioned. When Paula nodded, Mason sighed and dragged a hand down his face. "Laura… just how complex is your subconscious…?"

* * *

_Meanwhile…_

Drowzee was finishing packing up. He looked over the desert landscape one last time before wiping an arm across his brow. "Phew!" he sighed. "That's everything! Too bad there aren't any good souvenirs here… oh well. I'll just get something for them in the next—"

"Drowzee! WAIT!" a desperate voice cut him off. Drowzee turned in surprise to see a familiar-looking pikachu running towards him…

"Paula…?" he questioned, unable to believe what he was seeing. But the disbelief vanished when she came closer, and he exclaimed, "It _is_ you!" before pulling her into a hug. "I'm glad to see you! And just like I'd hoped in Treasure Town, I'm meeting you with a smile and open arms!" He blinked and blushed when he realized that his arms were no longer open, and, as he released her, he said, "Well, I mean they _were_ open until I hugged you, but… well, you know what I mean. How have you been?"

"I'm so glad to see you!" Paula exclaimed, still feeling slightly out of breath. "_I'm _fine, but—"

Drowzee cut her off when he noticed that she wasn't alone. "Who's this?" he asked, referring to the celebi that had accompanied her.

Mason gave a slight bow and introduced himself, "I'm Mason."

"Nice to meet you," Drowzee said cordially. Then he frowned as he registered the absence of someone important… "Where's Laura?" he asked.

"That's why we came here!" Paula said, the desperation in her voice immediately catching Drowzee's attention. "I mean… it _is_ nice to see you again… but we need your help! Laura is in trouble! She—"

Drowzee cut her off. "Laura is in trouble?!" he yelped. "Where is she? What happened? I'll do whatever I can!"

* * *

Mason and Paula led Drowzee back to the guild. Drowzee stared grimly at the unconscious Laura throughout the entire explanation of the events that led to her current state. He noticed the blanket on the top of the pile and started in surprise.

"Hey… isn't this…?" he trailed off.

"Yeah, it's the blanket you gave her," Paula confirmed. "It actually arrived on her thirteenth birthday, which was pretty cool."

"What? She's only _thirteen_?!" Drowzee angrily demanded. "Then why would those scoundrels _do _something like this? What kind of low-life goes around kidnapping kids?!"

Then Drowzee cringed as he realized something. "Oh… yeah…" he muttered. "I did the same thing to Azurill…"

"But you have since atoned for that, and you are helping us now," Dugtrio said in an attempt to offer him comfort.

Drowzee frowned; he didn't buy it. "But… I wasn't able to do anything for Azurill. He only woke up because of Cresselia," he reminded everyone, giving a nod in Cresselia's direction. "If _Cresselia_ failed this time, then I don't know how much use _I'll_ be…"

"Please, Drowzee," Paula begged. "Just _try_."

Drowzee sighed. "I never said that I _wouldn't_ do it. I just…"

"You will do fine," Cresselia assured him. "Just… be careful."

"Yeah, I will," Drowzee promised.

"And don't… don't be surprised by anything you see in there," Mason said, looking nervous. "Laura's mind… it's very… _complicated_."

Drowzee nodded. "I understand."

With that, Drowzee placed his hands on Laura's temples—frowning momentarily at the unnatural coldness of her skin—and entered her dreams, disappearing into a wave of purple light…


	25. Ch 24: Sleep Talk

**Chapter 24: Sleep Talk**

As soon as the purple light encompassing Drowzee disappeared, he groaned and staggered a few steps, dropping his head into his hands. It was always disorienting to enter someone's mind, but this time seemed worse than any of the others... Soon enough, however, he blinked and shook it off before muttering, "All right, so what do we have here…?"

He looked around and frowned. He appeared to be in an entryway… That wasn't too unusual, but what _was_ unusual was how white and… _empty_ it seemed… and how silent it was… He started to feel very uneasy…

Drowzee began to wander the corridors of Laura's mind. The more he saw, the more unease he felt. Most of the corridors were white and empty, like the entryway. A few had picture frames on the walls… but the pictures contained within had been blacked out, ripped up, hidden by chains, or other such combinations. There were also multitudes of locked doors. Drowzee tried to open one… but he quickly gave up when the moment he touched the lock, the entire place began to tremble. Plus, as if _that _wasn't disturbing enough, there was also the lack of inhabitants in the dream realm to consider…

"_I can see what Cresselia meant…"_ Drowzee thought with a frown. But then he perked up when he heard a soft noise. _"Huh? What's that?"_ he wondered as he headed towards it.

* * *

The closer he got to the sound, the louder it became. Drowzee realized that the sound was of someone sobbing, and he became worried, fearing that it was Laura. Eventually the sound led him to a door. But the door… it was different than all the others he had come across. It wasn't locked, for one, and it was also much larger, pretty, and ornate. The surface of it seemed to be swirling with rainbow colors, reminding him of Laura's eyes. Drowzee looked around. When he saw that there was no other way forward, he hesitantly placed his hand on the door. He gave a relieved sigh when there was no shaking as a result, and he began to push it open. It took a bit of struggling, but he eventually succeeded.

He stepped into a spacious room. The walls were white, like the rest of Laura's mind, but he was surprised to see that, along with the ruined pictures, they were covered in broken mirrors. Two doors were on the far wall. One looked like a carbon copy of the door he had just entered through, but the other was plain and painted completely black.

In the center of the room was a small cage with bars made of what looked like glowing, rainbow-colored energy. Something shimmery was huddled in the center of the cage. It was trembling, and, with a start, Drowzee realized that it was the source of the sobbing.

"H-hello?" he greeted cautiously.

At the sound of his voice the figure immediately silenced and stopped shaking. It uncurled and looked at him suspiciously. Drowzee was not certain what kind of creature the figure was. It kept flickering between a mostly incorporeal form that seemed to be made of rainbow-colored energy and a more defined form that looked like... honestly, he wasn't sure. Beings of pure energy, he could handle. But when it came to the defined form… he had never seen anything like it before. It was rather gangly-looking, and it appeared to have very pale skin and long, white fur. Strangely enough, however, the fur was only on its head. Its torso was covered in a strange, long cloth, and it had a bag tied around its waist. It also had what looked like a rainbow-colored jewel on its forehead… But in either form, one thing remained the same: its eyes looked exactly like Laura's.

"Who's there?" the figure demanded, sitting up. Its voice sounded ethereal, but Drowzee could tell that, whatever the creature was, it was a female, and she sounded scared…

"It's me! You know… Drowzee?" Drowzee said, unsure of whether or not the creature recognized him. There was no guarantee of that, after all. Even if they _were_ currently within Laura's mind.

The flickering girl frowned. "Drowzee?" she repeated in confusion, wiping tears from her eyes. Then she blinked in recognition. "Oh… _him_. What are you doing here?" she asked as she drew her knees up to her chest.

"I'm looking for Laura…" Drowzee said slowly, relieved that, whoever the figure was, she recognized him and didn't seem hostile. "Do you know where she is?" he asked. Then he paused as he thought of a remote possibility and added, "Or… are _you_ Laura?"

"Am I Laura…?" the figure repeated before sighing sadly and laying her forehead on her knees. "Yes… and no," she answered.

Drowzee was confused by the cryptic statement. The creature noticed this and sighed once more, this time in annoyance, before lifting her head and looking into his eyes. "I _am_ Laura… but I'm also _me_," she explained. "I'm both of us… at the same time." At Drowzee's continued confusion, the girl gave a sad smile. "It's complicated, I know," she told him apologetically.

Drowzee just shook his head and decided to ignore the statement in favor of figuring out what was causing Laura's continued unconsciousness. Seeing as this strange creature in the cage was the only thing in the room, and that she was _also_ the only inhabitant of the dream realm that he had met so far, he could probably assume that she was involved somehow… or that she'd at least be able to tell him what was going on.

"Are you locked up?" he asked. The girl hesitated before nodding warily, so Drowzee reached out towards the door of the cage and offered, "Here, let me just open this—"

"No! Don't touch that!" the girl yelled desperately, clutching at the bars. "This cage… it's the only thing keeping this body alive!"

"What?!" Drowzee yelped, immediately withdrawing.

"This cage around me is all that is left of my aura," the girl explained, gesturing with her hands. "There's only enough to maintain an unconscious body! If I leave it… then Laura will wake up. And if that happens…" she trailed off ominously.

Drowzee gulped. "She'll… what? Die?"

"…Something like that…" the figure mumbled, glancing at the ground.

Drowzee frowned before getting a flash of insight. "You're the one who forced Cresselia out, aren't you?"

"…Yeah," the girl admitted, nodding sadly. "I'm sorry about that… but the way things are right now…"

Drowzee nodded in understanding. "Is that why Laura's mind is so empty?"

The girl sighed. "Yes. I almost preferred the mess that Uxie made… But now it's all…" she trailed off and sighed again, laying her forehead back down on her knees. "I shouldn't have freaked out like that," she mumbled. "I was already aura-drained _before _the Spirit Trio's little 'stunt.' Now it's almost completely gone…"

"And you said before that _that's_ what the problem is…" Drowzee muttered with a frown on his face. There was silence for a few moments as he processed this. Then he cleared his throat to get the girl's attention. Once he saw that he had it, he asked, "So… are you saying that if you… Laura… this _body_ gets more aura… then Laura will be able to wake up safely?"

The girl shrugged. "Essentially, yeah."

"Okay, so how do we get more aura?"

The figure straightened up and got a contemplative look on her face. "…Well, under _normal_ circumstances, Laura and I would be able to generate more on our own. But right now… we can't do that. Something's… something's _wrong_. Something has been draining our aura for a while now…" she trailed off and shivered before continuing, in a much quieter and scared-sounding voice, "and… it's still draining it, even as we speak…"

"What?!" Drowzee demanded, beginning to panic. "So… so what do we do? Isn't there _anything_ that can help?"

The girl thought for a moment. "…Maybe," she said, causing Drowzee to perk up with hope. "If you can find Laura an Aura Crystal… then it might give her enough energy to wake up."

"An… Aura Crystal?" Drowzee repeated, unfamiliar with the item.

"…Yes…" the figure replied, becoming dreamy-eyed. "They're so pretty… that cave was _full _of them… That cave… in the T— _AAAUGH!_"

The girl cut off and began to shriek in pain and fear when the room began to shake. The mirrors on the walls became even more cracked, and the girl's form began to flicker more wildly and stay longer in her incorporeal form. The cage she was trapped in began to spark with energy and contract further.

"Whoa! Wh-what's going on?!" Drowzee asked frantically, trying to maintain his footing.

"M-my aura! It's… it's draining away…!" the figure gasped in pain. She quickly grasped the bars of her steadily shrinking cage. "Drowzee!" she pleaded. "I don't think this aura can last much longer! If you're going to do something, then you'd better do it soon!

She screamed again as sparks exploded around her and the room began to shake even _more_ violently.

"You have to leave _now_!" she commanded. "Go through the black door! This body… it can't support you any longer!"

"A-all right!" Drowzee agreed, making a mad dash for the indicated door. But when he grabbed the handle, the figure called out to him and he paused momentarily and turned back.

"One last thing!" she cried. "You can't tell either of them about me! Not Laura, and _especially_ not Mason! If _he_ learns of my existence… then it will only give him false hope…" she trailed off, her eyes portraying the emotional turmoil she was in. "Now _go!_"

Drowzee's eyes widened in surprise, but then he nodded and obeyed her command, flinging open the black door and stepping through.

For a moment, Drowzee found himself in an environment of total sensory deprivation. It was like… he couldn't even describe it. Whatever was happening to him… there was no accurate comparison. The only thing he could pinpoint for _sure_ about the feeling was that he _hated_ it. He freaked out for a moment… but then his senses came rushing back to him and he was thrust into a world of brightness and panicked voices…

* * *

_A few moments earlier…_

While Drowzee was still in Laura's mind, the guild, Paula, Mason, and Cresselia were gathered around Laura's bedside and waiting eagerly for his return.

"…So… hey, hey! Is it supposed to be taking this long?" Corphish asked, turning towards Cresselia.

"Normally, no," Cresselia answered. "But Laura is… special."

"Hey, hey? 'Special?'" Corphish asked, cocking his head. "What do you mean?"

Cresselia glanced at Mason, who had his lips pursed in anxiety, and murmured, "I… can't say."

Paula's brows furrowed. "Why not?" she asked.

Cresselia opened her mouth to answer… but she was cut off when Laura went rigid and began to spark again. Everyone began to panic… and the panic only increased when Drowzee suddenly appeared in a flash of light. Laura's sparking continued for about a minute more before calming down. Once Laura's body relaxed back into the blankets, everyone turned to Drowzee.

"What happened?" Cresselia demanded.

Drowzee glanced back at Laura before beginning, "W-well…"

* * *

Drowzee told everyone what he had seen (leaving out the mysterious figure, as per her request, and just saying that he saw Laura). "…and then I saw a bright light and ended up back here," he finished.

"So… you're saying that the reason Laura is like this is because she is 'aura-drained?'" Chatot summarized.

Drowzee nodded, and Corphish exclaimed, "Hey, hey! What _is_ aura, exactly?"

"…'Aura' is synonymous with 'spirit,'" a visibly upset Mason, answered. "So because Laura is 'aura-drained,' it means that her level of spirit is low… She doesn't have enough 'knowledge,' 'emotion,' or 'willpower.'"

"Okay… but why would that translate into unconsciousness?" Paula asked.

"No knowledge means no memories, no emotion means apathy, and no willpower means lethargy…" Mason answered quietly.

Bidoof shuffled his feet. "So… how do we cure her?"

"Apparently something called an 'Aura Crystal' might help…" Drowzee said.

"What's THAT?" Loudred asked.

"No… I was afraid of this…!" Mason moaned, dropping his head into his hands.

Paula blinked. "Mason, you know what it is?"

Mason sighed. "…Aura Crystals are an extraordinarily beautiful—and powerful—type of crystal," he explained. "They're the same color as Laura's eyes… You've actually seen some, Paula. Back in the Cave of Reflections…"

"Really? _That's_ what those crystals were? Then let's go back and get some!" Paula exclaimed eagerly, heading for the door.

Mason stopped her by grabbing her arm, and she turned back in surprise. "No… it's no good," Mason said. "When I left earlier, it was to go look for some. But… I can't find them anywhere! They had disappeared from the cave… along with those moronic _idiots_…" Mason suddenly dropped to an evil hiss. Then his voice returned to normal and he continued, "And they weren't in any of the other places I'd seen them before…"

"What?! Oh no!" the apprentices exclaimed in horror, beginning a panicked chatter.

Wigglytuff's brows furrowed. "Pretty crystals the color of Laura's eyes…?" he wondered aloud as something nagged at his memories. Then his eyes widened. "Oh! I know!" he exclaimed before dashing off to his quarters.

His abrupt exit caused everyone to silence themselves and stare in his direction curiously… and their curiosity was further peaked when they heard a series of crashes and bangs and his trademark "YOOM-TAH!" before he returned with a cloth-wrapped bundle in his arms.

"Do they look like this?" he asked Mason as he unwrapped the bundle to reveal a tiny, but lovely, rainbow-colored crystal.

Mason was shocked. "Yes!" he gasped. "That's it _exactly_! Where did you get that?!"

Wigglytuff looked over to Chatot and smiled. "Chatot and I got it as a gift a long time ago," he explained.

"Oh my gosh! That's so lucky!" Sunflora squealed in delight, holding her leaves to her cheeks.

"Yup, yup!" Bidoof agreed. "And that crystal sure is pretty…"

"And you're _sure_ you don't mind giving it to Laura?" Mason asked, looking at Wigglytuff almost reverently.

Wiglytuff grinned and shook his head. "Nope! Laura needs it more than I do."

Tears sprung to Mason's eyes and he bowed. "Thank you," he whispered with gratitude. Then he took the small crystal from Wigglytuff and turned to Laura. He carefully peeled back the blankets from her body and gently set the crystal on her chest, praying, "Please… _please_ let this work…!"

Everyone gasped as the crystal began to glow and dissolve into pure, rainbow-colored energy. As Laura absorbed it into her body, she, too, began to glow. Once the light dissipated, Laura took a deep breath…

…and continued to sleep.

There was absolute silence as everyone watched her, and then everyone jolted when Loudred broke it by asking, "So… did it WORK?"

"Oh my gosh, Loudred! You just totally _ruined_ the moment!" Sunflora exclaimed in annoyance.

"_RUINED_ the…" Loudred repeated in disbelief. "SUNFLORA! This is _LIFE_ and _DEATH_! WHY would you waste worry on something like a _MOMENT_?!"

Laura's eyes twitched at the noise, but everyone was too focused on Loudred and Sunflora to notice.

"Squawk! Quiet you two!" Chatot ordered. "This isn't the time!"

Sunflora ignored him in favor of arguing with Loudred some more. "You're _always_ like this, Loudred!" she accused. "You were totally ruining the mood at Fogbound Lake, too!"

Laura's eyes slowly blinked open, but still no one noticed. Nor did they notice that her eyes' rainbow colors were more muted than usual…

"Oh, so I RUINED the mood, did I? Well what about _YOU_ screaming 'EEK!' And 'OH MY GOSH!' all the time?!" Loudred shot back.

"That's not _half_ as annoying as all _your_ screaming and—"

"Um… what's… what's going on?" a timid and quiet voice asked, cutting Sunflora off. At the sound everyone whipped around to stare wide-eyed at the occupied bed. Their stares were met by Laura's open eyes and expression of utter bewilderment.

"LAURA! YOU'RE AWAKE!" everyone cheered with joy.

"Laura!" Mason all but sobbed with happiness as he and Paula pulled her into a hug. "I'm so glad you're all right!"

"I… what?" Laura asked in confusion. "Why am I… how did I end up in the guild? Where are Uxie, Mesprit, and Azelf?"

"We don't know," Paula reluctantly admitted. "They had already fled the cave when Mason went back…"

"The… cave?" Laura asked, her confusion mounting. "What cave? We were just… wasn't I just on the beach?"

Everyone stared at her in shock.

"You… you don't remember…?" Paula asked slowly, disbelief etched on her features.

Laura frowned. "…Remember what?"

"Your kidnapping, by golly!" Bidoof exclaimed before shrinking under Mason's sudden glare.

Laura blinked in surprise. "My… my _what_?" She looked to Mason for answers. "M-Mason…?"

Mason sighed and, very unwillingly, answered, "…A few days ago, you were kidnapped by the Spirit Trio. Paula and I managed to rescue you… but this is the first time since then that your eyes have been open…"

Laura's eyes widened. "B-but why would they…?" she stammered.

"Apparently they needed your memories of the Time Gears," Dugtrio explained.

Laura frowned as her memories sluggishly tried to catch up with the times. "The… Time Gears…?" she muttered. Then her eyes widened and she jumped up. "Oh! That's right! My vision—!"

She cut off when she immediately began to feel dizzy and saw spots dancing across her vision. Her knees buckled, and if it wasn't for Mason catching her and lowering her back to the bed, she would have blacked out and fallen to the ground.

"Ugh… So… s-so dizzy…" Laura moaned. Then her eyes fluttered and she added in a whisper, "…And t… tired…"

"…I don't think that one crystal is going to be enough," Drowzee muttered with a frown. "Laura, where was that cave that the g—I mean _you_—were telling me about before? You know… right before I was forced out of your dreams?"

Laura frowned. She had _just_ noticed that Drowzee and Cresselia were in the guild. A small part of her was curious as to _why_ and how long they'd been there… but most of her was too tired to care, so she just focused on the question he asked. "C-cave…? I don't… know… what you're talking about…" she mumbled tiredly.

"Meh heh heh… Looks like she can't remember that either," Croagunk summarized. "So? What do we do now? Do we have time to wait for her to remember on her own, meh heh heh?"

Drowzee shook his head with worry. "No… whatever was draining her aura is apparently still doing it…" he explained.

"Squawk! _What_?!" Chatot demanded, wings flapping wildly. "So we now have even _less_ time?!"

"Less… time?" Laura repeated, the phrase nagging at her mind for some reason. "Less… time… less… oh… _that's_ right…" she muttered. "There was a cave… so pretty… crystals _everywhere_… It was… in the Timeless Forest…"

Everyone stared at her in surprise. "The TIMELESS Forest?" Loudred asked. "Where's THAT?"

"Yes… even I, the head of guild intelligence, have never heard of such a place…" Chatot muttered, stroking his chin in contemplation.

Mason frowned. "The Timeless… oh! Duh! Of _course_ you haven't! The name didn't stick!" Everyone looked to him in confusion, so he explained, "The Timeless Forest… a more common name for it nowadays is the _Eastern _Forest."

"Hey, hey! I explored _all_ over that forest and I didn't see anything remotely like an Aura Crystal there!" Corphish said, pouting slightly.

Laura mumbled something unintelligible. "Hm? What was that, Laura?" Paula asked.

"…I said… you wouldn't have been… able to get into the cave. Only Mis…tress and I have… have access to it…" she repeated in a slightly louder tone.

"So… it's like my house? With an aura sensor?" Mason guessed. When Laura nodded sleepily, he sighed. "That means you'll have to be present to get to the crystals… I guess there's no help for it. I'll have to take you with me into the forest."

Mason bent to pick her up, but he was stopped by Wigglytuff.

"Hold it, Mason. Are you really going to take Laura into the forest alone?" he asked.

Mason frowned. "Of course," he replied, as if the answer was obvious. "She's _my_ responsibility. I can't let you get involved. What if there's danger?"

"Exactly," Wigglytuff nodded. "Laura won't be able to walk, so you'll have to carry her. How will you be able to protect yourself—or her—from danger if you can't fight because she's on your back?"

Mason was silent, glancing at Laura and biting his lip.

"Then I'll go with him!" Paula piped up. "I can fight just fine!"

"I'll go too!" Bidoof added.

"Oh my gosh! Me too!" Sunflora said.

"And ME!" Loudred announced.

"We'll _all _go!" Wigglytuff suddenly decreed. "It'll be like an impromptu expedition!"

"Guildmaster! You do realize the seriousness of this matter, yes? Laura is in grave danger! You can't just decide these things on a whim!" Chatot chided.

"It's not a whim! Laura is our friendly-friend!" Wigglytuff defended. "I want to make sure she's as safe as possible. And to do that, we'll need everyone's help! YOOM-TAH!"

"…All right," Chatot agreed. "In that case, we'll leave first thing in the morning. Everyone, spend the rest of the day getting ready. Dismissed!"

"HOORAY!" the apprentices cheered before rushing off.

Wigglytuff, Chatot, Cresselia, and Drowzee left the room to discuss whether the latter two would be willing to guard the guild while everyone was gone, and Paula and Mason were left alone with Laura.

"Are you okay with this, Mason?" Paula asked.

"…I'm glad that Laura will be protected, but… I have a few misgivings…" he admitted quietly. "I'm not sure how much of her past we'll have to face…"

"I'm sure it'll be fine. Laura will be able to handle it," Paula said, confident in her friend's coping abilities.

Mason looked at Laura—who had fallen back asleep and curled up into a loose ball—and murmured, "It's not _Laura's _ability to 'handle it' that I'm worried about…"


	26. Ch 25: The Diaries: Eleven

**Chapter 25: The Diaries: Eleven**

Sunflora's "Oh My Gosh!" Diary: Impromptu Expedition!

Yippee! Laura… she finally woke up! We were all so worried about her!

She's not out in the clear yet, though. Apparently she needs an "Aura Crystal" to fully recover. That's why the whole guild (and Paula and Mason, of course!) is escorting her to the Eastern—oops! I mean _Timeless_—Forest tomorrow. It will be like an impromptu expedition! Yippee!

I know that I should probably be more serious, since Laura's life is on the line… but, oh my gosh! I just can't help it! Expeditions are just so much fun! Yippee!

* * *

Bidoof's "Yup Yup" Diary: Timeless Forest

Well, Diary, this will probably be the last time I write in you for a while, since tomorrow we're going to the Timeless Forest to escort Laura (who's finally woken up!) to the Aura Crystals.

Huh, Diary? You want to know where the Timeless Forest is? Well, surprise, surprise! The Timeless Forest is actually another name for the Eastern Forest! I didn't know that… then again, I don't reckon anyone else from the guild did either. Just like we didn't know how pretty Aura Crystals are…

Oof… I'd better turn in for the night. I have to do my best tomorrow for Laura's sake, yup, yup!


	27. Ch 26: Every Friend was Once

**Chapter 26: Every Friend was Once a Stranger**

The next day the guild, Drowzee and Cresselia (who had stayed in overnight), and Paula, and Mason (who was carrying the barely conscious Laura on his back) gathered in the main area of the guild to go over the last-minute details of the impromptu expedition.

"…All right," Chatot finished. "Is everyone clear on what our goal is?"

"YEAH!" Loudred exclaimed, briefly startling Laura into a more awake state. But it was very short-lived and her eyes drooped sleepily once more, even as Loudred continued, "We've got to protect Laura so that she can get to the Aura Crystals SAFELY!"

Wigglytuff grinned at his apprentice's enthusiasm before turning towards Drowzee and Cresselia and saying, "Thank you for watching the guild for us while we're gone, friendly-friends!"

Cresselia gave him a gentle smile and replied, "It is no problem."

"Yeah," Drowzee agreed. "Just make sure that you get Laura there and back safely!"

Mason gave a small smile of gratitude and shifted Laura into a more comfortable position on his back. "Are you all set, Laura?" he asked. Laura mumbled unintelligibly, and Mason sighed in slight disappointment. "I'll take that as a yes…"

"All right! Let's go!" Wigglytuff ordered. "Off to the Eastern… I mean, _Timeless_ Forest! YOOM-TAH!"

"HOORAY!" Everyone exclaimed.

* * *

The expedition made its way through the forest. Everyone had been on escort missions before, but this time seemed more urgent, probably because it was one of their own that they needed to protect, instead of a stranger. It was also tough because in general, the ones that they were escorting could at least defend themselves a little. But in Laura's case, she could hardly keep her eyes open, let alone fight.

Things were going well… until they entered the Monster House full of Bug-types. Immediately they jumped into action, trying desperately to protect Laura on all sides, the sounds of their exclamations creating a cacophony.

"Take that!"

"Eek! Don't use _that _move, Dugtrio! Earthquake will hurt Laura too!"

"Hey, hey! Can someone throw a Max Elixir over here?"

"Yup, yup! Here you go!"

"Squawk! Take _this_! Peck!"

"YOOM-TAH!"

With so many attackers, the Monster House was quickly defeated and attention was turned to healing injuries and ensuring that Laura was still doing all right.

"Mason, how is Laura doing?" Paula asked.

Surprisingly, Laura was the one to answer. "…I'm fine…" she mumbled sleepily. "Sorry for… causing… so much trouble…"

"It's not _your_ fault," Mason murmured in exasperation.

"Of _course _we want to protect you!" Wigglytuff told her, joining in the conversation. "You're our friendly-friend!"

Laura smiled faintly before drifting off to sleep again. Everyone took that as a silent signal to continue forward. Mason drifted back to where Chatot and Wigglytuff were travelling side by side.

"So I've been wondering…" he began, "You said that you and Chatot got that Aura Crystal as a gift… but who gave it to you? And why?"

"It was a reward for a mission!" Wigglytuff explained, sharing a grin with Chatot.

"A mission?" Mason repeated.

"Yes… the mission that first brought us together as a team…"

* * *

_Many years ago…_

The forest looked stunning. The trees had wide boughs and were reminiscent of weeping willows. A plant that looked like Spanish moss hung from the branches. The grass was green, soft, and springy. Ivy grew everywhere, with heart-shaped leaves and curling tendrils beckoning with friendliness. A much younger Chatot was wandering through the forest. He seemed to be lost.

"Mumble… mumble… can't _believe_ this…" he muttered to himself. "How could _I_ get lost? This forest is _tiny_! Mumble… mumble…"

He glanced to his left and froze when he saw a tree with ivy encircling the trunk.

"Squawk! _What_?!" he exclaimed. "I've passed this same tree _three_ times now! I _knew_ I was going in circles! Grr…"

He stepped closer to the tree, determined to find out what it was about it that was causing him to lose his way. He noticed that one of the ivy tendrils seemed to be pointing to the left.

"_I might as well go this way,"_ he thought as he began heading in that direction.

* * *

As Chatot continued on the path, he felt the wind pick up in a gentle breeze. He also noticed that clusters of sweet-smelling white flowers with yellow centers that he had seen once or twice during his exploration seemed to be appearing in greater numbers on the forest floor. The further he went in, the more the wind picked up and the more white flowers he saw. He also began to be surrounded by a silvery glow, almost like an aura…

The instant he noticed this he froze in shock and looked at his wings.

"Wh-_what_?! What's… what's this?!" he asked fearfully.

Suddenly the wind became intense and Chatot had to dig his talons into the ground to keep himself from blowing over. But that did no good when a whirlwind appeared and swept him up.

"_AIEE_!" he screamed as he was blown away…

* * *

Chatot landed in another part of the forest. He sat up dizzily, groaning, "Ugh… Wha…? What just happened…?"

"_AIEE!_" a sudden scream pierced the air.

"Squawk! Wh-What the-?!" Chatot exclaimed in surprise, looking up to see something big and pink fall from the sky… and land directly on top of him.

He groaned again, and it took him a minute or two to squirm out from under it. He shook his head to dispel the ringing in his ears before taking a closer look at what had fallen on him. In shock, he realized that it was a pokémon!

"Are you all right?" he asked frantically.

The pokémon sat up and blinked its eyes open. It glanced around, and when it caught sight of Chatot it immediately grinned and sprang to its feet. "Yep! I'm fine!" he assured. Then he looked around again and frowned. "But… P-perfect Apple… where did it go…?"

"_Perfect Apple?"_ Chatot wondered.

"Sniffle…! P-Perfect Apple…!" the pink pokémon whimpered.

The ground started to shake, and Chatot began to grow alarmed.

"Waah!" the pink pokémon cried as the shaking became more intense and trees began to explode.

Chatot looked around in alarm at the destruction, and when he put two and two together and realized that the cause was the pink pokémon his eyes widened in fear. When he saw that the pokémon's distress was about to reach a new level, he quickly fumbled around for something in his treasure bag.

"Aack! It-it's okay!" he said in fear as he desperately searched his bag. When he found the item he was looking for, he quickly offered it to the distraught pokemon. "Here! You can have mine!"

"W-waah…?" the pokémon said, cracking open an eye. When he saw the offered item, his tears and shaking immediately stopped. "Oh! A Perfect Apple!" he exclaimed, grabbing it and beginning to dance. "Wow! Thank you, friendly-friend! I'm the explorer Wigglytuff! What's your name?"

"Er… Chatot," Chatot answered, feeling rather dumbfounded by Wigglytuff's abrupt mood swing.

"It's nice to meet you, friendly-friend Chatot!" Wigglytuff exclaimed, oblivious to Chatot's discomfort.

"S-so… you said you were an explorer?" Chatot asked, trying to figure out the apparent puzzle that was Wigglytuff. "Did you come to look for the Treasure's Clearing too?"

"Nope!" Wigglytuff replied, stopping his dance, grinning and shaking his head. "My other friendly-friends did… but I just tagged along because this is the Friendly Forest!"

Chatot stared at him in disbelief. _"He… he just came because of the _name_?" _he thought incredulously before asking, "So… so where are your friends now?"

"Haven't a clue!" Wigglytuff answered, not seeming at all distressed by this fact. "We were walking through the forest when my precious Perfect Apple slipped out of my hands and started rolling away! I chased and chased after it, but a whirlwind came and blew me away before I could catch it! Then I woke up here, and you gave me _another_ Perfect Apple!" Wigglytuff explained. Then his grin widened and he began to dance again. "Yay! Thank you, friendly-friend Chatot!"

Chatot's eye began to twitch before he noticed a similarity between how he and Wigglytuff both arrived in their present location. He decided to vocalize it. "So you got hit by a whirlwind? That's how _I_ ended up here, too!"

"Oh, oh?" Wigglytuff asked, sounding mildly curious.

"Yes!" Chatot said, bobbing his head in the affirmative. "Tell me, did you see a lot of white flowers before the whirlwind hit? And did you get surrounded by a silvery glow?"

"Hm… White flowers, yes," Wigglytuff said. "But I had _pink_ glow."

"That's very strange…" Chatot murmured. He glanced over at Wigglytuff and saw that he was still happily dancing. He sighed in slight annoyance before beginning to walk away, saying, "Well anyways… it was nice meeting you, but I need to get going now."

"Are you really going to go off alone?" Wigglytuff asked, stopping Chatot in his tracks. "But you're lost, like me! We should go together!"

"T-together?" Chatot asked, surprised by Wigglytuff's suggestions.

Wigglytuff nodded happily. "Yep! I bet we could find my Perfect Apple and your 'Treasure's Clearing' much faster if we worked together as a team!" Wigglytuff explained.

"Squawk! _What_?! How did _you_ know that I was looking for the Treasure's Clearing?!" Chatot demanded, flapping his wings in confusion.

Wigglytuff obliged, "You asked me if I was looking for it 'too.' Also… you look like the exploring type, and explorers are _always_ looking for treasures!"

Chatot froze. "I… I really look like an explorer to you…?" he whispered, sounding hopeful.

Wigglytuff grinned and nodded. "Yep! So let's go! I'm coming, Perfect Apple!"

He charged off, and Chatot blinked, dispelling the happy haze that Wigglytuff's affirmation had put him in. Then he blinked again as he recalled another important piece of information that Wigglytuff had told him. "Wait a minute! What about your friends? Don't you want to look for them, too?"

"They're super strong! I'm sure they'll be fine!" Wigglytuff called back.

Chatot sighed and hurried to catch up with him, muttering, "If you say so…"

* * *

The duo set off into the forest. Wigglytuff kept chatting about random things, and Chatot couldn't decide whether it was amusing or annoying. They came across a few wild pokémon, but it was nothing that the two couldn't handle. Chatot was impressed that, despite his dopey demeanor, Wigglytuff was actually good at fighting. Things progressed quickly, and it wasn't long before the two had arrived back where the patches of white flowers grew.

"Ooh! Look, look! We're back here!" Wigglytuff exclaimed, eyes shining brightly, when he recognized the area. "I'm coming, Perfect Apple!"

When it looked like he was about to rush into the midst of the flowers, Chatot gasped in alarm and grabbed onto him in an attempt to slow him down. It didn't work, and the alarm increased when Chatot realized that they both had started glowing again.

"Wait a minute!" Chatot squawked. "This is where the whirlwinds were! We have to be care—!"

He was cut off when another whirlwind appeared and blew the pair away…

"_AIEE!_"

* * *

When they landed, the two lay still for a moment. Wigglytuff recovered first. He sat up and shook away the dizziness before immediately looking for Chatot. When he saw that he was on the ground a little ways away and still unconscious, he gasped and rushed to his side.

"Chatot! Are you all right?" he asked worriedly, helping his new friend to sit up.

"Ugh…" Chatot moaned, putting a wing to his pounding head in an attempt to relieve the headache. "I… y-yes… I think so. But… what were you _thinking_?! Why would you just _rush in_ like that?!"

"You tried to rush in? Sheesh… then of _course_ you'd get blown away," a mysterious, male voice sounded from the duo's right. The two turned in surprise to see a cacturne leaning against a tree, admiring the moss hanging off of the branches. "Direct approaches don't work on that place," the cacturne continued. "If you want to get into the Treasure's Clearing, you have to be bearing a… 'Gift.'"

With that, the cacturne wandered away.

"…Who was _that_?" Chatot wondered aloud once the stranger was out of sight.

"Ooh… A _mysterious_ friendly-friend!" was Wigglytuff's only reply.

Chatot's head dropped and he sighed in exasperation. "Of course," he muttered, sounding annoyed. Then he raised his head as a thought came to him. "But… he _did_ seem to know about the Treasure's Clearing… so maybe we should go after him?"

"What?! The Treasure's Clearing?! What do _you_ want with the Treasure's Clearing?!" an angry voice screeched from behind them.

The two whipped around in shock… only for their shock to increase when they realized that the livid-sounding pokémon… was a _mew_! They were also surprised to see that he was wearing a fragment of some rainbow-colored rock or crystal from a chain around his neck, and he was carrying a heavy-looking bag. As they studied him, he gripped the bag closer to his body and eyed them suspiciously.

"Don't tell me… are _you_ the ones who are trying to steal from the Treasure?!" he demanded.

"S-Steal?" Chatot asked. "What do you mean? Doesn't the treasure belong to the first pokémon who finds it?"

"No!" the mew all but shrieked. "The Treasure is not something to be possessed! If you intend to go into the clearing as thieves… then you must first go through _me_, Mew!"

Mew began to prepare an Aura Sphere attack… but before it could be released, Wigglytuff stepped in.


	28. Ch 27: The Rise of Team Perfect Apple

**Chapter 27: The Rise of Team Perfect Apple**

"Wait, friendly friend!" Wigglytuff pleaded, holding his hands in a placating manner in order to stave off Mew's impending attack. "Chatot and I are explorers, not thieves! If you don't want us to go into the Treasure's Clearing, then we won't. We just need help getting out of the forest and finding my Perfect Apple… oh! And finding my other friends, too!" he assured (causing Chatot to sigh in exasperation at the fact that his other friends had only been added as an afterthought).

Mew stopped short, and the energy in his hands died down. He looked at the pair suspiciously before grabbing the fragment around his neck and turning his back on them. A bright light seemed to shine from his chest area, and he slightly turned his head back to look at them with white, glowing eyes. Immediately he relaxed, dropped the fragment, and turned back around fully. The glowing of his eyes died down and he smiled.

"Yes… I believe you," he told them. "Your auras… they're so nice! You couldn't _possibly_ be the ones he was talking about!"

At Chatot and Wigglytuff's confused looks, Mew explained, "Recently I was warned that there would be an attempt to try to steal from the Treasure's Clearing, and…" he paused and his eyes widened. "Oh!" he exclaimed. "I have to go! If there really _is_ going to be a theft attempt, then I have to stop it!"

He began to race off, calling back, "Wait there! I'll help you find your friends and the exit after I take care of this!"

"Thank you, friendly friend!" Wigglytuff called after him. "Oh! And if you see my Perfect Apple, be sure to bring it back for me!"

Chatot tried his best to resist the urge to bang his head against a tree.

* * *

Mew sped through the forest until he had reached the very edge of where the white flowers began growing. He glanced around before heading in deeper, but froze when he heard a voice to his right.

"Hey, there."

Mew spun around, tightening the grip on his bag. But when he saw who it was, he instantly relaxed.

"Cacturne! It's you!" he greeted in relief. "What are you doing here?"

Cacturne, who had been leaning against a tree, straightened up and moved towards him. "I have some more information on the thief. I know who it is," he explained.

"Really? Who is it?" Mew asked. He began to move closer… but he froze when the fragment around his neck began to glow. He gripped it in confusion, and the instant he did so, his eyes began to glow. He looked over at Cacturne… and his expression became one of horror and betrayal.

"It's me!" Cacturne revealed, sending a pulse of dark energy from his hands. "Dark Pulse!"

Mew screamed in agony as the super-effective attack hit him and sent him sprawling to the ground. Cacturne continued to attack, until Mew was left on the very brink of consciousness. Then Cacturne took the bag that Mew had been so protective of and began to walk away with it.

"N-no… the T-Treasure's… Gifts…" he whispered hoarsely. "Have to… get them… back…!"

Mew pushed through the spots crowding his vision and was able to use his psychic powers to tear a hole in the bag… but the hole was so small that only one of the precious items within the bag fell out. But that one small act drained Mew of his remaining power, and he blacked out before he could do anything more…

* * *

_Meanwhile…_

Chatot and Wigglytuff were obediently waiting for Mew to return. Wigglytuff had gotten out the Perfect Apple Chatot had given him and was dancing around with it again, while Chatot observed and tried to sort through his thoughts.

"_Is… is he really an explorer?"_ Chatot wondered. _"He was pretty strong when we defeated those wild pokémon earlier, but when he's like this…"_

The sound of a scream pierced the air and cut through Chatot's musings.

"Squawk! What was that?!" he exclaimed.

"That sounded like friendly-friend Mew!" Wigglytuff gasped when he recognized it. "Come on, Chatot! Let's go!"

* * *

The two raced in the direction of the scream and were stunned when they found Mew, unconscious on the ground, bruises covering his body, his bag nowhere in sight.

"Squawk! Mew!" Chatot exclaimed, hurriedly searching through his treasure bag for a Reviver Seed. "Oh my goodness! What happened?!"

He found the seed and forced it down Mew's throat, instantly waking him up.

Mew moaned as his eyes fluttered open. He took in his surroundings, and his eyes clouded with confusion. "Ch-Chatot…? W-Wigglytuff…? Wh-what are you… doing here? I thought I… t-told… you to… stay…"

"We heard you scream and rushed over!" Wigglytuff explained, surprising Chatot by how serious he sounded. "What happened? And where's your treasure bag?"

Mew's eyes clouded further with confusion before they widened as his memories caught up with him. He bolted upright, wincing at the pain, and exclaimed, "That's right! He took it! That bag… it had the Treasure's precious Gifts in it! Cacturne… he tricked me!"

Chatot gasped. "Did you say Cacturne? We saw a cacturne shortly before we met you! He mentioned something about needing a gift to get into the Treasure's Clearing…"

Mew looked even more horrified. "No, no, no! He _can't _go in there! I have to stop him!" he said frantically, attempting to get up. But his injuries were still severe enough that he couldn't manage it and fell back down.

"You're in no condition to do anything, Mew. Just wait here," Wigglytuff said, once more surprising Chatot with his seriousness. But the surprise vanished when Wigglytuff suddenly grinned and promised, "_We'll_ go get your bag back!"

"You'd… you'd really do that…?" Mew asked hopefully.

Wigglytuff nodded. "Of course!"

"But wait a moment!" Chatot interjected, causing Wigglytuff to look at him in surprise. "Cacturne fled deeper into the field of flowers, right? How will we go after him? If we go any farther, a whirlwind will appear and blow us off course!"

"Is that what you're worried about?" Wigglytuff asked. "It's all right! Mew will help us! After all, if he's the guardian of the Treasure's Clearing, then he must know a way in, right?" he explained, turning to Mew expectantly.

Mew was wearing a stunned expression on his face, but he quickly shook it off and answered, "Yes… the way in… you need one of the Gifts that was in the bag Cacturne took."

"Squawk! What?! Then what do we do now?!" Chatot demanded, flapping his wings. "If he took all of them, then how are we supposed to proceed?!"

"It's okay… I managed to save one," Mew said, indicating to the spot where the item had fallen out of the bag. "It's not as big as the others, but…"

Wigglytuff hurried over to the spot and looked around. His eyes lit up when he found it, and he exclaimed, "Ooh! Pretty!"

The he picked the item up and headed back for confirmation. "Is this it?" he asked, showing it to Mew.

The item… it was a crystal. It was very small, but it was also very exquisite. It looked like a rainbow that had obtained solid form…

Mew nodded, and Chatot looked at the crystal in disbelief. "But it's so tiny!" Chatot exclaimed in dismay. "How will _this_ protect us from the whirlwinds?"

Mew shook his head. "Don't let its small size fool you," he cautioned. "It may be tiny… but that one small crystal is more valuable and precious than _all_ the Time Gears combined!"

Chatot jolted in shock before whipping his head up to see Mew's deadly-serious expression. Then his eyes widened and his gaze turned towards the flower patch. "And Cacturne has a whole bag _full_ of them?!" he demanded. Then he grabbed Wiggytuff's arm and ordered, "Wigglytuff! We need to hurry!"

As the two sped off, Mew called after them, "I'll catch up when I can!"

* * *

Wigglytuff and Chatot raced through the Friendly Forest, the flowers growing in thicker patches the further they went. Once the two began to glow with their respective auras they hesitated, wary of whirlwinds. They became nervous when the wind picked up… but then the tiny crystal began to glow and the air became still once more. The duo shared a grin before racing onwards again… only to freeze when they heard a familiar sounding voice.

"So you figured out the secret too, huh?"

Wigglytuff and Chatot slowly turned around to face the voice's owner, and were unsurprised to see Cacturne, once again, leaning against a tree. He was tossing a glowing, rainbow-colored crystal—that was significantly bigger than the one in Wigglytuff and Chatot's possession—into the air and was surrounded by an aura of a rather sinister-looking shade of red.

"It took me _months_ to figure it out and gain Mew's trust…" Cacturne continued nonchalantly, heedless to the duo's glares.

"How could you betray friendly-friend Mew like that?" Wigglytuff demanded. "You're nothing but a big meanie!"

Chatot slapped a wing to his face at the juvenile insult, but Cacturne just chuckled and replied, "Perhaps… but at least I'll soon be a 'big meanie' who's in possession of a fabulous treasure!" He spread out his arms before ordering, "Now, my minions! Attack them!"

At that order, a horde of geodudes dropped from the trees and surrounded Wigglytuff and Chatot, attacking them and giving Cacturne ample time to flee. Chatot struggled to beat back his opponents—as they were Rock-types and he was a Flying-type—and the battle began to take a serious toll on him. Wigglytuff took notice of this and intervened, taking out enemies left and right.

"YOOM-TAH!"

With one final attack, the remaining geodudes were knocked out. Immediately after that, a whirlwind blew them away. Wiggltyuff and Chatot were surprised, but then they saw that each geodude had been holding a crystal which had dropped to the ground when they were defeated and no longer gave them protection.

Wigglytuff turned back to Chatot and asked, "Chatot, are you all right?"

Chatot looked upset. He was staring at the ground, his eyes sad. "…He was right," he muttered.

"Huh?" Wigglytuff asked.

"My brother," Chatot explained with a sigh. "He said that I should just give up on my dreams of exploring and just stay as his back-up singer because… I just _don't have _what it takes to be an explorer…"

Wigglytuff frowned before giving a sigh of his own. "Oh, Chatot…" Then he tugged Chatot up off the ground and gave him a gentle smile, saying, "Come on. We still have work to do."

Wigglytuff went and gathered the crystals that had been dropped. After putting them all into his treasure bag, he noted, "It looks like getting rid of the crystals will make the whirlwinds appear. We should be careful with ours. Now let's go get that meanie-Cacturne!

* * *

Chatot was still downcast as they continued through the forest. Eventually they came to a spot where the flowers grew so thickly that the forest floor was basically carpeted with them, and the strong scent that they were giving off would have made them feel slightly intoxicated had they not gotten used to it during their trek. They would have gone even deeper into the forest… had there not been a veritable _wall_ of thorns blocking the path. But they weren't the only ones who were stuck—Cacturne was also there, looking frustrated and trying to find a way through.

"I don't get it…" he muttered angrily, unaware that he had an audience. "Why aren't these 'Gifts' working? They prevented the whirlwinds… so why aren't they revealing the path _now_?"

Wigglytuff decided to make his presence known. "Cacturne!" he yelled. "Stop right there!"

Cacturne whipped around, shock clearly displayed on his features. But he quickly traded his surprised expression with one of simmering rage.

"…So you two managed to defeat my minions? Well, good for you. But _you're_ the ones who will be stopping!" Cacturne declared, throwing a Dark Pulse at Wigglytuff.

Wigglytuff managed to dodge before immediately coming back with DoubleSlap. It hit, but it didn't do very much damage. Cacturne was really strong! Even Chatot's Flying-type moves—which _should_ have been super-effective—were barely having an impact! Cacturne used Dark Pulse on Wigglytuff again, and this time Wigglytuff was unable to dodge. What was worse was that the move caused Wigglytuff to cringe, leaving him helpless as Cacturne began to wail on him with the super-effective move Brick Break!

"W-Wigglytuff!" Chatot called out in worry.

"Waah! Chatot! Help me!" Wigglytuff cried.

"B-but what can I do?!" Chatot asked desperately. "My moves aren't having any effect! I'm just… I'm just so useless! I'm not good for anything but a back-up singer!"

Wigglytuff would have shaken his head had the cringing not prevented it. "No, Chatot! You're _so_ much more than a back-up singer!" he assured. "You're an explorer, my friendly-friend… and my partner!"

"P-Partner…?" Chatot repeated in surprise. _"Not… not just a singer…?"_ he wondered. Then his eyes widened as he got an idea. "Wait a minute… singer…?" he murmured. "That's it! Sing!"

With that, Chatot began to sing a lullaby. Cacturne tried his best to keep his eyes open, but he failed and fell deeply asleep, giving Chatot ample time to wear him down with Peck. Wigglytuff stopped cringing and joined in the fun as well. Just before the finishing blow, Cacturne woke up.

"NO!" he cried. But it was no use.

"Peck!"

"YOOM-TAH!"

With that, Cacturne was defeated. He dropped the bag that he had stolen from Mew, and a whirlwind immediately came and blew him away. After his screams of, "_AIEE!_" died down to an echo, Chatot slumped over in exhaustion.

"We… we did it…!" he panted.

"Yay! Yay!" Wigglytuff exclaimed, before grabbing Chatot (ignoring his protests) and starting to dance around with him. "We did it! We did it!"

"You did it!" a happy voice called from behind them, causing them to turn around. They grinned when they saw who it was.

"Mew!"

"Friendly-friend Mew!"

Mew grinned as he floated over. He still looked a bit battered, but he was holding steady. He was also surrounded by an aura. It was pink, like Wigglytuff's, but his had more of a pastel shade while Wigglytuff's was hot-pink.

Wigglytuff and Chatot crowded around him.

"Friendly friend! You're okay!" Wigglytuff said happily, pulling Mew into a hug.

Chatot grinned, but then a thought occurred to him. He decided to voice it, "But, Mew! You don't have any crystals… so how are you avoiding the whirlwinds?"

Mew held up the chain and glowing fragment around his neck. "It's because of my necklace, see?" he explained. Then he turned around and glided backwards towards the thorny wall. "Now…" he began, "would you like to see why these crystals are so important?" he asked, causing the duo's eyes to widen in surprise. Mew grinned. "Come on, I'll show you."

He placed his hands on the thorny wall and let his aura flow into it. White roses bloomed, and the whole thing parted, like a curtain, to allow entry. Mew began to move forward, but he paused when he noticed that neither Wigglytuff nor Chatot were following, as they were still frozen in surprise.

Mew laughed, "It's all right. After everything you've done… how could you _not_ be allowed to see the Treasure's Clearing?"

He grabbed hold of the two and practically dragged them through the rosy curtain…

* * *

Wigglytuff and Chatot gasped in awe at what they saw on the other side. The area they were in… it just seemed so beautiful and _pure_. There was a canopy of trees above them, the boughs filled to bursting with white blossoms. The falling petals reminded them of snow. The only hint of color that could be seen on the ground was yellow, from the center of the flowers that had grown in such abundance on the opposite side of the curtain.

Mew let go of the exploring duo and cupped his hand to his mouth. "Everyone! I'm back!" he called out.

Immediately, a group of unown swarmed him. They were all surrounded by auras of varying shades of purple, and they circled the group even as they continued to move forward. They all seemed very happy, and the air was soon filled with their chatter.

"Mew!"

"Mew is back!"

"Mew brought guests!"

"Hello, Guests!"

Their constant circling made Chatot feel dizzy, but Wigglytuff seemed ecstatic. "Wow! Mew has _lots _of unown friendly friends!"

An unown A noticed Mew's glowing, bulging treasure bag and happily exclaimed, "Oh! The Gift! Mew brought more of Treasure's Gift!"

As the unown all cheered, Chatot frowned. "I've been meaning to ask…" he began, "why does everyone keep calling those crystals 'Gifts?'"

Mew grinned. "I think they technically have another name, but my Master always called them 'Gifts,' so we do too. As for why they're called that… it's because that's what they _are_," he explained. Chatot just looked at him in confusion, so he further explained, "These crystals are a part of what the Treasure sacrificed during the world's creation. Without that sacrifice… our world wouldn't be the same as it is today, assuming that it even still existed at _all_. But…" Mew paused and frowned before continuing in a saddened voice, "the Gift… it's also the Treasure's very _essence_. In giving it to us, the Treasure… well, what's left is…" he trailed off with a sigh. Then he got a determined look on his face. "Anyways… that is why my Master asked me to collect the parts of the Gift that are scattered around the world. We want to return it to the World's Treasure!"

Mew stopped and turned to face the duo, spreading his arms wide. "Behold!" he exclaimed. "This is where the Gift will be returned!"

When Chatot and Wigglytuff looked beyond him, they saw that the Treasure's Clearing was very beautiful. It was filled with wildflowers with colorful blossoms of every shade imaginable, although the white flowers they were now so used to still appeared to be the most abundant species. In the very center of the clearing, surrounded by the white flowers, was a statue depicting two figures. One of them was a mystery to the exploration duo. It appeared to be some sort of gangly creature with long fur that, strangely enough, only appeared to grow on its head. It was also wearing some sort of cloth covering. It wasn't terribly tall, so they assumed that, whatever it was, it was a child. A very young one, given how round and cute its cheeks were. For some reason they also got the distinction that it was a female… She was smiling happily, and beautiful gems had been fitted into her eyes, making them appear rainbow-colored. There was another rainbow-colored gem—or orb, really—held in her outstretched right hand, as if it were an offering. Her other hand was resting on the front leg of… Arceus.

Wigglytuff and Chatot looked in awe upon the depiction of the Alpha Pokémon. He looked… magnificent. He was just so regal… and it was striking how he seemed to interact with the unidentified female creature. He was obviously relaxed, but the way he seemed to curl around the child gave the impression that she was very important to him, and that he would not hesitate to attack if she were threatened. The expression on his face portrayed that as well; it was a perfect divide between tender adoration and a fierce desire to protect. Seeing that combination on Arceus' face… it was staggering. All that the two could do was stand in awe.

Mew began applying the crystals to the orb in the unidentified creature's hand. As they were absorbed the figure began to glow, with the glow being the strongest around the areas of the orb and the eyes. The eyes of the two explorers widened with wonder.

"It's so… so beautiful…" Chatot whispered.

"Wow…!" Wigglytuff agreed. Then he glanced down at the base of the statue and jolted when he saw something red and round.

"Oh! My Perfect Apple!" he gasped, breaking the spell and rushing towards it. He scooped it up and began to dance around. "Yay! Yay!" he cheered before getting out the other one and proceeding to dance with it as well. "Now I have _two_! Mine _and_ friendly friend Chatot's!"

Mew paused in his task and looked over in surprise. "So your Perfect Apple rolled all the way over _here_? And then when you started chasing it… a whirlwind blew you to where Chatot was… hm…"

He studied Chatot and Wigglytuff's auras once more, noting how well they seemed to fit together.

"Oh! Of course!" he exclaimed, causing Chatot and Wigglytuff to look at him in confusion. Mew didn't seem to notice, and he merely chuckled and crossed his arms before looking at the statue and commenting, "I see that the Treasure has been at work again."

He turned around, finally noticing the confused stares and deciding to clear things up. "Tell me, Wigglytuff… when you first lost your Perfect Apple, did the forest do anything… _strange_?" he asked.

Wigglytuff blinked, getting a contemplative look on his face as he thought back. "Hm… oh! Yes!" he remembered. "I was dancing with it on my head… and then a breeze came and blew it off! But I was nowhere _near_ the white flowers at that point!"

"Maybe not," Mew grinned, "but the Treasure's influence is _always_ present. The Treasure must have sensed your and Chatot's auras and arranged it so that you two would meet. You two… I think that the Treasure wants you to be together."

Mew chuckled again as Chatot's mouth dropped open in shock and Wigglytuff's eyes brightened. Then he asked, "You said you were explorers, right? Why don't you two form an exploration team together?"

The two blinked before looking at each other, speculating the possibilities.

"Form an exploration team… with Chatot?" Wigglytuff murmured. "Hm… I've always explored with lots of different friendly friends… but I've never had a team of my _own_." He suddenly grinned and grabbed Chatot's wings. "I bet it'd be fun! Let's do it Chatot!"

When Chatot glanced down, Wigglytuff frowned. "Unless… you want to go back to singing?"

"…_No… I _don't_ want to sing back-up for the rest of my life," _Chatot admitted to himself. _"I thought that I didn't have what it takes to be an explorer… but then I helped to defeat Cacturne! And with Wigglytuff… I feel unstoppable. Even if he _is_ a hard to handle at times…"_

"So, Chatot," Wigglytuff said, bringing Chatot out of his musings. "What are you going to do? Will you form a team with me?"

Chatot looked up at him and grinned. "Of _course_ I will!" he said, as if the answer was obvious. "After all, you'd be _helpless _without me!"

"Hooray!" Wigglytuff cheered, grabbing Chatot and dancing with him again. "Exploration team! Yay!"

Mew smiled at their antics before turning back to his task. He reached into his bag to pull out another crystal, but then he frowned when all his hands touched were the bottom of the bag.

"Was that it?" he asked, turning the bag over and shaking it. "I thought I had collected more than that…"

"Oh! Right!" Wigglytuff exclaimed, stopping his dance (much to Chatot's relief) as he remembered. He went over to Mew and opened his bag. "We still have the ones that we took from the geodudes!" he said as he pulled them out. "And then there's the one that _you_ gave us…"

He handed it to Mew, but Mew merely glanced at it, shook his head, and handed it back, saying, "No… you two keep this one."

"Really?!" Wigglytuff gasped happily.

"Squawk! What?!" Chatot spluttered. "B-but… didn't you say that it was more valuable than the Time Gears?!"

"Yes, I did," Mew affirmed. "And it _is_, but… the Treasure and my Master would want you to have it. After all, it _was_ given to the world as a gift!"

"Okay! We'll be sure to keep it safe!" Wigglytuff promised. Then he thought of something and grinned, heading over to the statue. "I know! Since the Treasure gave _us_ a gift… I'll give one back!" he stated happily as he plopped his newly found Perfect Apple on the ground, exactly where he had found it earlier.

The unown gasped and began to babble in amazement.

"A gift!"

"Guest gave a gift to Treasure!"

"Guest is so nice!"

Mew smiled proudly. "Yes… the Treasure was certainly right about you," he decided. "I'm sure that you'll find the right use for that Gift… and I know that if you ever crossed paths with the Treasure, you would be kind… Now, I promised to lead you out, correct? Let's get going."

The unown were enthusiastic in their goodbyes, and as the trio left, they began to circle around the statue.

* * *

It didn't take long for Mew to lead the two back to the forest's entrance, and as he headed back to the Treasure's Clearing, he called back, "Come visit again sometime! And please keep the Treasure's Clearing a secret for me!"

"We will!" Wigglytuff promised. The he turned to Chatot and said, "Okay! Let's get going!"

As he began to head off, Chatot glanced back at the forest. "Uh… aren't you forgetting something?" he asked.

Wigglytuff frowned before he blinked and remembered, "Oh! Right! My friends! I wonder where they went…"

They didn't have to wonder long, as the instant he said that, a scream pierced the air.

"_AIEE!_"

Chatot's eyes widened as a rhyperior, roserade, and gallade dropped from the sky. They lay still for a few moments, but it didn't take them too long to regain consciousness and sit up, groaning.

"Ouch! Stupid whirlwinds…" the rhyperior muttered.

The gallade nodded in agreement. "Yes, they _are_ rather annoying, aren't they?"

"And we _still_ haven't found Wigglytuff yet!" the roserade added.

"Well hi there, friendly-friends!" Wigglytuff greeted, not seeming bothered at all by their abrupt appearance.

The three jolted and whipped around, sighing in relief as they saw who had spoken. "Wigglytuff! _There_ you are!" the roserade said, getting up. "We've been looking _everywhere _for you!"

"_Unfortunately, the same can't be said for him,"_ Chatot thought.

The rhyperior caught sight of him and asked, "Who's this?"

"This is Chatot!" Wigglytuff introduced with a beaming smile.

"Nice to meet you, Chatot!" the rhyperior greeted. "We're Rhyperior, Gallade, and Roserade… but you probably know us better as Team Raider."

Chatot's jaw dropped and he spluttered, "Squawk! Wh-what?! _The_ legendary Team Raider?!" He turned to Wigglytuff and demanded, "Why didn't you _tell_ me that your friends were the members of Team Raider?!"

Gallade sighed, not at all feeling surprised. "He didn't tell you? That's so like him… as is chasing after Perfect Apples like he did earlier." He shook his head. "Speaking of which! Where did you end up? Did you… did you maybe find the Treasure's Clearing?"

Wigglytuff shook his head and lied, "Nope! There were too many whirlwinds. I don't think it's possible to get in.

Roserade sighed in disappointment, "What a shame… but if Wigglytuff thinks that, then he's probably right. Oh well, I suppose it can't be helped. We'll just have to give up… for now, at least."

Rhyperior was disappointed as well, but he agreed, "Yeah. Come on everyone, let's head home."

Team Raider began to leave, but they paused and turned back when they noticed that Wigglytuff wasn't following. Wigglytuff smiled apologetically and said, "Sorry, guys. But I'm not going back with you. Friendly friend Chatot and I are forming our _own _exploration team!"

"Really?" Gallade asked in surprise. Then he grinned and congratulated, "Well, good for you! What's your team name?"

Chatot blinked. "Our team name?" he repeated. "We haven't actually thought about it yet. Hm… what should we call ourselves…?"

"Oooh! Oooh! I know!" Wigglytuff exclaimed. "From this day forth, we shall be known as… Team Perfect Apple! YOOM-TAH!"

"Squawk! Team _what_?!" Chatot demanded.

Roserade shook his head and murmured, "Only you, Wigglytuff. Only you…"

Rhyperior doubled over with laughter. "HA HA HA! What an interesting name!"

Gallade didn't even dignify it with a verbal response and, instead, dropped his face into his hands and shook his head.

Wigglytuff ignored them and began chattering about how much fun "Team Perfect Apple" would have and how much treasure that they would find, but Chatot just looked at the heavens and groaned, "What have I gotten myself into…?"

* * *

_Present Day…_

"…And that's the story!" Wigglytuff finished, beaming at Chatot, who couldn't decide whether to feel nostalgic, embarrassed, or annoyed.

"I see," Mason commented, secretly thinking, _"But you know, Wigglytuff… if Mew asked you to keep that a secret, they maybe you shouldn't have shared that story with me…"_

"Mew was right!" Wigglytuff suddenly said, bringing Mason out of his thoughts. "We _did_ find the right use for that Gift! We used it to help Laura!"

Mason blinked before nodding and glancing back at her. He opened his mouth to say something, but was cut off when Corphish scuttled back to them and frantically said, "Hey, hey! We've got a problem!"

"What is it, Corphish?" Chatot asked with a frown.

Corphish gestured with his claws, "It's a dead end!"

Mason gasped before rushing forward to see for himself.

Unfortunately, Corphish was right. The group's passage forward was blocked by a moss-covered cliff face, with no caves or Aura Crystals in sight…


	29. Ch 28: Miracle of the Crystals

**Chapter 28: Miracle of the Crystals**

Everyone stared at the cliff wall in dismay. Sunflora had covered her mouth with her leaves in horror, and Loudred was frantically shaking his head in denial. Diglett and Dugtrio were burrowing along the edge of the cliff, trying to find a way through. Chimecho turned to Croagunk with a lost look on her face, but he could offer her no comfort; all he could do was shrug and shake his head grimly. Bidoof gulped in fear while Chatot spluttered and flapped his wings. Silent tears trailed down Mason's face, and Paula patted his arm, trying to comfort him, but failing because she was barely restraining her _own_ tears. Wigglytuff approached the wall and tried to break through with a "YOOM-TAH!"…but it had no effect. At seeing that, everyone began to babble frantically. Their voices grew louder and louder along with their fear and dismay:

"Oh no!"

"What do we do NOW?!"

"Did anyone see any crystals on the way here? Maybe we just missed the entrance…?"

"Eek! Oh my gosh! This is _horrible_!"

The noise caused Laura to stir. "What's… going on…?" she murmured sleepily, her eyes still closed.

Upon hearing her voice, everyone went silent. Mason frantically scrubbed the tears from his eyes and turned his head so that he could look at her.

"Oh… S-sorry Laura, did we wake you?" he asked, unable to stop the quiver in his voice.

Laura frowned and struggled to open her eyes and focus on him. Mason smiled at her, but she wasn't fooled. She could see how red and puffy his eyes were.

"What's… wrong?" she asked. "Why… were you… crying?"

"I wasn't crying!" Mason insisted unconvincingly. "I was just…"

Laura's frown deepened when he just trailed off sadly like that. She realized by Mason's reaction that no one was going to tell her what was going on, so she struggled to straighten up a little and blearily observed her surroundings. It took her a few moments, but her brain finally lit up with recognition and she happily sighed, "Oh… we're here…"

Paula frowned. "What do you mean, 'we're here?'" she asked.

"The entrance to… the cave is… in this cliff wall," Laura replied sleepily as her energy became spent and she snuggled back down into Mason's back.

"WHAT?!" everyone exclaimed, faces alight with both hope and confusion.

"B-but… hey, hey! _I_ don't see any cave entrances!" Corphish spluttered.

Laura mumbled something too low for Corphish to hear. But Mason heard it just fine and relayed the message, blushing sheepishly, "Ah… she said something along the lines of, 'It's _hidden_. I _told_ you that only Mistress and I could get in.'"

Everyone else joined Mason in his sheepish blushing.

"S-so if it's hidden… then what should we look for?" Paula asked.

Mason searched his thoughts. "Um… Probably a symbol of some sort. I don't know which of them would have put it on there, so I can't say for certain what it would look like… but it would probably be at eye-level."

"Eye-level?" Bidoof repeated before squinting and looking at the wall again. He frowned, "Oof… I'm looking at eye-level, but… all I see is moss and rock…"

Mason rolled his eyes and sighed, "_Human_ eye-level, Bidoof."

There was a pause before Paula timidly asked, "And, uh… where would that be…?"

Mason stared at her, and she blushed before explaining herself, "It's just… I've _heard_ of humans before, but, aside from some of Laura's paintings, I've never actually _seen_ one. How tall are they?"

Mason blinked before mentally slapping himself for assuming that everyone knew a lot about humans. He sighed and kneaded his forehead, trying to think of a good description. "Okay, well… the height can vary. It depends on things like age… but I'm pretty sure that a human adult would be taller than _everyone_ here. Wigglytuff and Loudred might rival a young child, but…"

Everyone's jaws dropped and they stared at him in shock. Loudred was the first to come out of it, and he whistled, "WOW… humans must be REALLY tall up CLOSE…"

"Meh heh heh… It's hard to believe when you look at how tiny a _former_ human can be…" Croagunk said, giving a pointed look at the still kind of out-of-it Laura. Chimecho giggled in agreement, and he glanced at her and grinned.

Mason rolled his eyes again and floated upwards. "_Anyways_," he began, trying to get everyone back on track, "if a symbol were placed at a child's eye-level, it would be around _here_…" He floated upwards again and said, "And if it were at our Mistress' eye-level, it would be around _here_."

Mason turned around and looked down at the group, frowning when he noticed how everyone had their heads craned upwards. He glanced back at the spot he had indicated and reluctantly admitted, "Hm… This _is_ pretty high up… this isn't going to be easy…"

Everyone began looking for symbols on the cliff wall. Chatot and Chimecho proved to be the most help, as they could float and fly. They could easily reach the higher-up areas of a human adult's eye-level. Chimecho was the one who finally spotted it.

"Oh! Over here!" she exclaimed, causing everyone to rush over with hope. "I think I've found something! It looks like… a Time Gear!"

"WHAT?! A _TIME GEAR_?!" Loudred demanded. "So… so Dusknoir WAS right? There really IS a Time Gear here?"

"Not necessarily," Mason said, studying the symbol. "The Time Gear is also the symbol of our Mistress." He paused, fondly fingering the symbol, before adding, "Well… _technically_ her symbol existed long _before_ the Time Gears were created, but… I'm getting off-subject. Laura!" he suddenly called, causing her to sleepily look at him. "Can you open the cave for us?"

Laura nodded and he brought her closer to the symbol. She placed her hand on it before closing her eyes in concentration. The symbol began to glow, and then everyone heard a subtle click. Everyone was briefly alarmed when the ground started to shake, but they quickly relaxed when they realized that it was caused by a section of the wall opening up.

"Oh my gosh! It worked!" Sunflora exclaimed, clapping her leaves together in excitement.

Corphish shared in the excitement by saying, "Hey, hey! What are we waiting for? Let's go in!"

* * *

They headed in, but they all had to stop abruptly at the entrance and shield their eyes because the rainbow glow, which had been faint from the outside, was almost too overpowering in the cave itself. But their eyes soon adjusted and they all stared in awe. The cave… it was breathtaking. Aura Crystals were glimmering _everywhere_, on the walls… the floors… the ceiling… Occasionally one would glow brighter before disintegrating, and sometimes a glow would signify that a new crystal was coming into being. But the rate of disappearance seemed to be faster than that of new formation...

A strong glow from the back of the group made everyone turn in surprise to see Laura absorb a crystal that was beneath her outstretched hand. Laura seemed to glow as well, and when the light died down she blinked in slight surprise before smiling.

Mason anxiously asked, "Laura? How do you feel now?"

"I'm not… so tired anymore," Laura hesitantly admitted. "But… I still feel a little…"

"Don't be shy, Laura. Take as many crystals as you need," Mason insisted. Then his eyes creased in worry when he noticed that Laura's smile had turned into a frown of confusion. "Is something wrong?" he asked.

Laura shook her head. "No," she assured. "It's just… I think that there used to be a lot more crystals the last time I was here…"

Mason frowned at that, but Laura offered no further explanation and simply reached out to absorb another crystal. Everyone else set off to help too by looking for the biggest crystals in the cave and bringing them back to Laura. With each crystal absorbed she showed marked improvement. She was less lethargic, and even her _eyes_ seemed brighter.

"Ooh!" Wigglytuff suddenly exclaimed after giving her a crystal. "I bet this is how Mew feels when he returns the Gift to the Treasure!"

"_Mew?"_ Laura thought as she absorbed the crystal. _"Why does that name sound familiar…?"_ Once the crystal was gone, Laura thanked Wigglytuff before saying to Mason, "You can put me down now."

"Are you sure?" Mason asked, even as he lowered himself closer to the floor so that she could climb off.

Laura nodded, "Yeah, I'm pretty sure that I can walk now."

Laura got down and took a few steps. She stumbled briefly, causing Mason and Wigglytuff to reach for her in order to steady her, but she waved them off and absorbed a few nearby crystals. Then she wandered around on her own, albeit unsteadily.

* * *

Meanwhile, Paula was searching for good crystals deeper into the cave. She looked along the ground and paused when something caught her eye. She bent down to inspect it and gasped before calling back, "Laura! You've _got_ to see this!"

Laura walked over with wobbly steps. When she saw what had Paula so excited, her eyes widened. "This… isn't this the same flower design that we saw in Brine Cave?" she asked.

Indeed, it was. Even though it was a little scuffed up, the white outline of the flower could be clearly seen. It was also the only spot in the cave that was completely devoid of crystals.

Paula nodded "Yeah! I wonder what it's doing here…" Then she paused. "Wait… it was a _flower_?" she asked in surprise. Then she paused again as she realized something. "Wait a minute! You remember seeing this design in Brine Cave? Then… gasp! Laura! Is your amnesia going away?!"

Laura blinked and her eyes widened. "I… I think it is!" she exclaimed. "I remember… We saw this in Brine Cave! And then… at the end, Grovyle met up with us! And then we rode on Lapras! But…" she frowned and sighed. "That's all I can remember…"

"Still! That's an improvement over before!" Paula said happily. "I bet it's because of the crystals! They're replenishing your aura… so, as part of 'knowledge,' they must also be improving your memory!" she deduced. "I bet if you absorb some more, your memory will get even better!"

She looked around to see if there were any big crystals nearby, and spotted Bidoof balancing some on his back. "Bidoof!" she called out. "Can you please bring those over here?"

"Yup, yup!" Bidoof called back, heading over.

He had to move slowly in order to keep the crystals from falling off his back, so Laura took some time to further study the design on the floor. For some reason, looking at it caused something to nag at the back of her mind…

"Here you go!" Bidoof said cheerfully as he neared them. But he stumbled just before he reached them, and the crystals fell off his back. One of them rolled over in Laura's direction just as she was taking as step back to get a different view of the design. She accidentally stepped on the crystal instead of the ground, and it caused her to slip and fall face-down, right into the middle of the design.

"Waah! I'm sorry, Laura!" Biddof said frantically. "Are you okay?"

Laura sat up and turned back towards him, flashing an understanding smile. "Don't worry," she assured. "I'm f—"

She was cut off when the design beneath her began to glow. The rest of the crystals in the cave followed suit, and everyone stopped what they were doing to look around in shock. When they realized that it was coming from Laura's direction, they immediately hurried over in worry.

As they did so, the glowing crystals all dissolved into balls of light which shot off to surround Laura. She began to glow brighter and brighter, and the light soon became so intense that it outshone the light given off by a Luminous Orb! There was a big flash, and then the cave was shrouded in darkness. Everyone began to chatter in fear.

"Eek!"

"Squawk!"

"WHAT THE-?!"

Slowly everyone's eyes readjusted to the dark, and they became aware of a distinct lack of Aura Crystals in the cave. They all looked around in confusion, and a sudden groan made their eyes jump back to the middle of the design on the ground. Where Laura had once been there was now a heap of gray, only distinguishable from the surrounding rocks that made up the floor and walls of the cave because of its contrast with the white of the design. The heap stirred, and everyone realized that it had been the source of the groan. It groaned again before it seemed to… _unfold_. With a start, everyone realized that the gray heap was a _living being_! But… most of them hadn't seen anything like it before.

The creature sat up slowly before kneeling on all fours. The gray… it appeared to be some sort of cloth. It covered the creature's torso, but, aside from small strips on its shoulders, it left its arms bare and contrasted greatly with its pale skin. The cloth covered its legs down to its calves, leaving only a few inches of skin bare between it and the cloth covering its feet. There was also a second layer of cloth tied around its waist that fanned out around its knees. The creature had a gray bandana on its head, but beneath it was long, brown fur that reached the middle of its back. It had blue bandages on its arms, and, with a start, Paula realized that they must have been soaked in Oran Berry juice. It also wore a Time Gear bracelet and Time Gear embroidered ribbon tied around its wrist…

Slowly the figure sat up, and everyone jumped back when they saw how _big_ it was. The creature stretched its arms above its head before rubbing its closed eyes. As its hands dropped back to its sides, the eyes slowly blinked open. They shone with the brilliance of a rainbow that was so very familiar…

Mason was numb with shock, but everyone else gasped in a strange mixture of disbelief and realization, "L-Laura…?"

The creature blinked and cocked its head before innocently asking, "Yes?"


	30. Ch 29: Humanity

**Chapter 29: Humanity**

Everyone stared at Laura, unable to believe that her form had changed from the treecko they were so familiar with to this…_thing_. At everyone's continued silence, Laura frowned. "Why… why are you looking at me like that?" she asked. Then she blinked and looked around in confusion. "What happened to all the Aura Crystals?" she questioned, looking back to her friends. Then she frowned again and asked, "And why… why are you all so… _small_?"

Paula finally found her voice and stammered, "L-Laura… _we're _not small… _you're_ big!"

Laura frowned once more in confusion.

"Laura… how do you feel?" Dugtrio asked.

Laura thought about it for a moment before a smile grew on her face. "… Really good, actually. Better than I've felt in a long time…" she admitted.

"That… that is good," Dugtrio said slowly, "but I meant… do you feel… _strange_ in any way? Or… _different_?"

Laura frowned again. "I'm not sure what you mean…"

Mason finally recovered the smallest amount and faintly ordered, "Laura… take a look at your hands."

Laura frowned, but did as he asked. But the moment she caught sight of her hands, she froze. "No way…!" she murmured, turning them over and over. Tentatively she reached up to stroke her fur—_hair_, her eyes widening when it caught in her fingers. "No _way_…!" she said louder, frantically scrambling to her feet.

Everyone scrambled away in surprise—and, honestly, _fear_—of her new height. Everyone but Mason, that is.

"I'm… I'm… I'm HUMAN again!" Laura exclaimed in shock. "I'm… but how is this…?!"

Her breathing began to speed up, and when Mason heard it hitch he shook off his remaining shock and flew up to her eye-level, taking her face in his hands and forcing her to look into his eyes. "Laura, calm down," he commanded. "If you continue to hyperventilate like this, you'll pass out."

As Laura looked at him, her eyes widened with a new kind of recognition. "Golden…" she whispered. "Those eyes… they're… Mason. You're… you're _him_…"

Mason was visibly shocked. His hands dropped, and he asked, "Laura… do you… do you remember now?"

Laura nodded. She looked at her bracelet before biting her lip and slumping back down on her knees. "Yes…" she whispered almost sadly. "I… I remember now. I… I know who I am..."

Mason shut his eyes, seeming to share her emotional torment. Everyone else looked at the pair in confusion, not daring to disturb what looked like a private moment. That is… until Corphish blurted out, "Hey, hey! But how did this happen?! Why did Laura turn back into a… a _human_?"

Mason glanced at Laura once more before addressing Corphish, almost reluctantly, "…Well she _did_—apparently—say in her dreams that Aura Crystals could heal her, so… I guess they just did a better job than we thought they would…"

"But that's great!" Wigglytuff suddenly exclaimed, seemingly oblivious to the tension that permeated the air. "Laura is all better now! That means mission accomplished!"

No one acknowledged his comment. Laura and Mason were too occupied with… _something_, and everyone else was still in shock at seeing Laura's true form.

Wigglytuff frowned before repeating, "I _said_… mission accomplished!"

That startled the guild members and Paula back to the present, and, fearing that another lack of response would cause Wigglytuff to snap, they cheered, "H-HOORAY!"

Wigglytuff beamed and decreed, "Okay! So now we need to go back home to start on our _next_ mission: Fixing the Time Gears!"

Mason and Laura perked up at this. They glanced at each other worriedly before following the others in exiting the cave, with Laura closing it up behind them.

* * *

Everyone was quiet on the way back. Mason and Laura were lagging behind and, by their hushed whispers, it was obvious that they were privately discussing something important. No one was paying as much attention to the surroundings as they should have, so it wasn't really surprising when they wandered into a Monster House by mistake. Everyone jumped in alarm when they were suddenly set upon by dozens of Plant- and Bug-types like bayleef and vespiqueen.

"Squawk! Oh no!" Chatot exclaimed as he dodged an Aerial Ace attack. "It's a Monster House! Humans aren't very strong! We have to protect—Squawk?! L-Laura?!"

Laura didn't need protection. Chatot's surprised squawking had been due to her leaping in front of him and taking down the vespiqueen that had attacked him. In fact, that was the _fourth_ pokémon she had taken down on her own. Everyone watched in awe as she performed a spinning kick on one of the attacking bayleefs' knees, knocking it down before immediately spinning back around and punching another vespiqueen in the face. By the time everyone finally came to their senses and began to help her, she had already taken out half of the Monster House. The remaining enemies were quickly defeated, and Laura took a moment to rest and wipe the sweat from her brow, oblivious to everyone's stares of wonder.

When she finally noticed the awed stares, she confusedly asked, "…Why are you staring at me like that?"

Suddenly Croagunk chuckled, "I always _wondered_ where your unique fighting style came from… Meh heh heh… Going for the weak spots… you're pretty brutal, aren't you?"

Laura blushed at that and looked away in embarrassment. "W-well it's like Chatot said… humans are naturally weaker than pokémon. We get hurt more easily," she sheepishly admitted. "I never would have survived in that dark future if I couldn't protect myself. There was only so much that Grovyle could do…"

Paula nodded; that made a lot of sense. But then she blinked in realization and gasped, "Laura! You… you can remember your time in the paralyzed future with Grovyle?!"

Laura blinked, suddenly realizing that, _yes_, she _did_!

"…Most of it…" she said slowly in wonderment. "I mean… as much as I would have remembered had Darkrai _not_—"

She cut herself off with a sharp gasp and her hands flew to her mouth. Everyone looked at her in concern as she confusedly murmured, "Darkrai…? But that… he…"

"Laura? Is everything all right?" Mason asked.

Laura blinked, taking her hands away from her mouth and faintly saying, "Uh… Y-yeah, I'm fine. It's just… I just remembered something."

"Something important…?" Mason prompted.

But before Laura could answer, a rumble of thunder resounded through the forest.

"Eek!" Sunflora shrieked, grabbing Loudred's arm in terror.

"SUNFLORA!" Loudred said in annoyance, stumbling from the unexpected contact. "What are you DOING?"

"Ooh… I _hate_ thunder!" Sunflora complained, shivering in fear.

"Do you think we'll make it home before it starts raining?" Chimecho asked curiously, looking up at the sky. The beginning of a torrential downpour answered her question.

Everyone continued moving forward for a while, but visibility was very poor.

"This is RIDICULOUS!" Loudred complained. "I can't see ANYTHING!"

"Continuing in these conditions would be very dangerous…" Chatot agreed.

"…Um…" Laura said quietly, causing everyone to look at her expectantly. "I, uh… I know somewhere that we can go. That is…" she glanced at Mason, "if you don't think it would make her mad…?"

"No… that's a good idea," Mason said, nodding. "I think she'd be pleased if we used it for that purpose. Besides… it'd give us a chance to… you know…" he trailed off nervously.

"Right," Laura sighed. Then she looked around briefly before changing directions and starting to walk confidently to the right. "It's this way…"

* * *

Laura led the group to the secret door and opened the hatch. Everyone filed into the underground cavern, with Laura closing the door behind them. The guild and Paula looked around in awe at the cavern's size and the lights on the walls. Mason and Laura, who had been in the cavern before and were used to its sights, quickly got busy finding towels and other supplies in the storerooms and distributing them. At one point Laura caught sight of her reflection in one of the cavern's many full-length mirrors and she paused. She stepped closer for a more thorough inspection.

"_So… I really _am_ human again…"_ she thought, finally coming to terms with reality. _"And I'm still wearing this same outfit,"_ she noted, seeming slightly surprised. Then she blinked and made a face. _"Oh, _ew_! That means I've been wearing this for over _two years_! ...Sort of…"_ She stroked her tangled and windblown hair. _"…I look like an absolute mess," _she decided.

"I need to go dry off," Laura announced, heading for the room with the flowers painted on the door. "No peeking!"

"Golly!" Bidoof said once Laura had left the room. "Laura must still be shy about us seeing her human form if she won't even dry off in front of us."

Mason shook his head, a slight blush coming to his face. "No, that's not it. She was _soaking_ wet. A towel wouldn't have been enough."

"Hey, hey! Then why didn't she just start a fire?" Corphish asked.

"No, that wouldn't…" Mason began before pausing as realization struck him. He kneaded his forehead and asked, "Do you guys have _any_ experience with humans?"

Everyone was silent, confirming Mason's suspicions. "I guess not," he groaned.

"Honestly… I think this is the first time any of us have seen a _real_ human," Sunflora admitted. "I mean… we've all _heard_ of them, but… oh my gosh! Hearing about them and actually _seeing_ one are two completely different things!"

"Although she did look a little like the female creature from the statue in the Treasure's Clearing," Chatot quietly commented to Wigglytuff. "Laura is taller, obviously… and the cloth she's wearing appears to be different… and her chest is…er…" he trailed off at that, blushing in embarrassment without really understanding why and desperately hoping that Mason hadn't heard his last comment.

It seemed like his wish came true, as Mason just continued from his previous comment by sighing, "Oh, dear…" He lifted his head and frowned at seeing that everyone was still soaking wet. "…I'm being a bad host," he admitted. "Your idea was a good one, Corphish. I'll go start a fire."

Mason floated off in search of wood, and the other pokémon took the opportunity to explore the cavern. Paula ended up in the area that contained the room Laura had disappeared into. She cocked her ears at the strange shuffling noises she heard coming from behind the flowered door, but she passed it off as some human thing that she would ask about later if it turned out to be important. She looked around and hopped up onto a chair that was in front of a table to the left of the ornate door so that she could get a better view. She turned around and started in surprise—nearly falling off the chair—when she saw her reflection in the mirror that was set up on the table. She studied it, feeling very curious. She had never seen a _real_ mirror before. The closest she had seen was clear, still water and the crystals in the Cave of Reflections.

"Weird…" she murmured. "It's so… clear!"

She looked down at the table and blinked when she noticed a folded piece of paper on it. She picked it up and unfolded it, blinking again when she recognized the writing as being in the same language that Laura had used during her brief trial period with a diary. She was surprised when, now that she saw it again, she could recognize some of the letters. She still couldn't read any of it, but it reminded her a bit of the unown from Aegis Cave and the writing that Grovyle had deciphered in the Old Ruins.

The other members of the group made their way to the room and looked around, admiring the doors. Bidoof strolled over to the blue-green door.

"Golly, I wonder what's in here…?" he said as he started to push it open.

He was startled when two shouts of "_No_!" resounded and Mason and Laura rushed over, with Mason dropping the firewood in his arms and Laura not even bothering to close the door to the room she had just exited. Laura blocked the path to the blue-green door with outstretched arms while Mason hurriedly closed it.

"Waah!" Bidoof exclaimed, jumping back in alarm. "Wh-what's wrong?"

Laura looked at him apologetically while Mason explained, "Sorry, Bidoof, but you _can't _go in there. That door leads to our Mistress' chambers. _No one_ is allowed in there without her permission!"

"Oof… Sorry, I didn't know," Bidoof apologized.

"It's fine," Mason assured with a sigh, with Laura nodding in agreement. "Just… please don't do it again."

Everyone nodded, and Laura dropped her outstretched arms and headed over to the mirror. Paula sensed that she wanted to sit down, so she considerately hopped out of the chair. Laura smiled at her in gratitude and set a small bag she had been holding on the table before sitting down. She took a brush out of the bag and began to run it through her hair. Mason, meanwhile, started a small fire in the center of the room.

Everyone watched Laura with interest. Something about her puzzled Wigglytuff, however, and when he finally figured it out, he commented, "Oh, oh? Laura! You look different now!"

Laura turned back and looked at him with confusion, and Chatot sighed and gently said, "Guildmaster… Laura has turned back into a human. Of _course_ she looks—"

"No, no, silly!" Wigglytuf cut him off with a shake of his head. "I'm not talking about _that_."

At everyone's looks of confusion, Wigglytuff explained, "Back in the cave with the Aura Crystals, Laura was all gray. But now she's all _white_!"

Laura creased her brow before her eyes widened in realization and she exclaimed, "Oh! You're talking about my clothes!"

Laura stood up. Indeed, she _was_ wearing a new outfit. It was much simpler, for one. She had on a white cloth that landed midway between her knees and ankles, with small strips over her shoulders, and the gray cloth on her feet had been exchanged for white. The bandages were gone, so the only bit of color on her apparel came from the Time Gear that had been emblazoned on her belt.

"'Clothes?'" Paula repeated, cocking her head.

Laura nodded and knelt to the ground, holding out her hands. "_This_ is my skin," she began. Then she picked at the cloth that covered most of her body and further explained, "And _this_ is just a dress."

"Oof… So, why'd you change out of your old 'clothes?'" Bidoof asked.

Laura shrugged, "They were soaking wet. Besides… that camouflage won't really be useful here."

Paula cocked her head. "Camouflage?"

Laura nodded. "Remember how everything in the dark future was gray and lifeless? My other outfit helped me to blend in."

"I _wondered_ why you were wearing that," Mason said, nodding in understanding as he stoked the fire. "That gray outfit didn't suit you. _This_ looks much better."

Laura blushed and glanced away as Diglett moved around to study her feet.

"So what are those?" he asked, indicating her feet. "Are they 'clothes' too?"

Laura nodded and took them off. "They're shoes," she explained. Then she wiggled her toes. "_These_ are my feet."

"So _that's_ a human footprint…" Diglett murmured, studying her feet.

"If you're going to memorize her footprint, then you'd be better off memorizing the one when she has shoes on," Mason called from the fire. "Humans generally don't go around barefoot outside."

Diglett nodded and Laura put her shoes back on so that Diglett could follow Mason's suggestion. As he did so, Chimecho floated up and touched Laura's hair, asking, "What about this?"

"My hair," Laura explained, getting back up and sitting in the chair, continuing to brush it. "Mostly it grows on my head, but some also grows on my arms and legs, etc." She set down the brush and stared at her reflection. "It used to be _much_ shorter," she quietly admitted. Then she bit her lip and sighed sadly, "I… I should probably cut it again… or at least trim it…"

Sunflora's eyes widened and her leaves flew to her mouth. "Eek! _Cut_ it?!" she asked in horror. "Won't that hurt?"

Laura blinked in surprise before giggling, her mood brightening a small amount. Mason laughed and assured Sunflora, "No, it won't hurt her. Hair is equivalent to fur; it doesn't hurt when it's cut."

Then he turned to Laura and offered, "Let me do it for you; you probably won't be able to cut it evenly on your own."

Laura blinked before smiling gratefully. "Heh… Yeah. That's why Grovyle always did it…" she sighed sadly.

That statement made everyone feel gloomy, but they perked up with interest as they watched Mason trim her hair with a pair of scissors he had taken from the bag on the table. He finished quickly, and when he was done the length had shortened from reaching the middle of her back to barely brushing her shoulders. Laura looked at her reflection in the mirror and bit her lip. She fingered her now shortened hair and sighed in resignation.

Everyone was confused by her reaction—although Mason's feelings were leaning more towards extremely worried—but Paula and the guild members seemed more interested in the snippets of hair that had fallen to the floor.

"Hey, hey! So what do you do with the hair that's been cut off?" Corphish asked curiously.

Laura sighed again before answering him, "I don't really need it… we usually just threw it into the fire so that we left less of a trail."

"Ooh! Can I have some of it?" Wigglytuff asked with enthusiasm.

Laura blinked in surprise and shrugged. "Uh… Sure. But, um… why do _you_ want it?"

"It's a memento!" Wigglytuff happily exclaimed, before bending down to collect some.

"Oh! I want some too!" Sunflora said, going to collect some of her own.

"Yup, yup!" Bidoof agreed. "Me three!"

The pokémon all scrambled after the hair snippets (and Mason secretly took some as well…) while Laura looked on, slightly bemused. Then she caught sight of the paper that Paula had found and she cocked her head. "What's that?" she asked.

Paula blinked and looked down at it, as if she just now remembered that it was in her possession. "Oh… I think it's a letter," she said, handing it to her friend. "I found it on the table you're sitting at. It looks like it's written in the same language as your diary…"

Laura glanced at it before she froze in shock. She was silent for a few moments before she looked back at Paula. When she saw her expectant face, she quietly said, "…Yeah. It's written in English too."

"'English?' That's what it's called?" Paula confirmed. At Laura's nod, she asked, "So… who's it from? And who's it for?"

Laura lowered the letter and glanced away. "…It's for me," she admitted quietly. "And it's from… it's from the one pokémon whom I taught this language: Grovyle…"

Everyone whipped around, eyes wide with shock. "It's from _Grovyle_?" they repeated. "Well, go on! Read it!"

Laura sighed before reading aloud, _"…Dear Partner… no, _Laura_… I hope that this letter finds you in safety, and that you weren't harmed in the accident. I was really worried when I woke up and you weren't there. If you're reading this letter, then it means I was right in thinking that you'd head for this cave if we were separated._

_I've gone on ahead to collect the Time Gears. My first stop is the one in Treeshroud Forest. Can you take out the ones in the lakes of the Spirit Trio? They might be more likely to listen to a human. If you can't get those, I'll save them for last. Also, try and work on finding the Hidden Land. It's too bad that your legends don't tell of its location… _

_In any case, I hope that this letter isn't necessary and that we meet up soon. –Grovyle_

_P. S. I can't believe I'm saying this, but… you were right about this cave. Your bracelet is still stuck in the keyhole (again, I'm _really_ sorry about that…) despite the fact that you—technically—haven't put it in yet."_

With that Laura dropped the letter back in her lap and sighed sadly, tears stinging in her eyes. "He really _was_ worried about me…" she murmured. "He called me _Laura_… He _never_ called me by name unless he was feeling really emotional… he'd always call me 'Partner' or something…" She paused and choked on a sob as she realized something. "When… when we finally met up again… he _only_ used my name…"

Everyone looked at her with sympathy and cast around for something to distract her with. It was Corphish who finally managed by asking, "Er… S-so, hey, hey! What bracelet was he talking about? The only ones I see here are the ones on yours and Mason's wrists!"

Laura rubbed her eyes and sniffled before pointing at her bracelet and saying, "Yeah, this is the one he was talking about. See… Grovyle and I briefly stayed in this cave before we went off in search of Celebi. While we were here, I tried to open that door there," she pointed at the ornate door before continuing, "at Grovyle's request by using my bracelet as the key. But like I _told_ him, I was too young. The door didn't open, and my bracelet got stuck. But I got it back the last time I was here."

"Squawk! Wait, what?!" Chatot asked, flapping his wings. "How could that bracelet still have been there? That dark future no longer exists! It should have vanished along with… erk!" he cut himself off and blushed, realizing how insensitive he almost sounded. "W-well you know who I… it… it should have vanished!" he finished lamely.

Laura shrugged. "Like Grovyle said, I was right about this cave." Her eyes became dreamy and she smiled, "_Relatia's_ Cave…"

Everyone looked from her to Mason (who was sharing her dreamy expression) and felt puzzled. "HUH?" Loudred asked. "Who's RELATIA?"

Mason forced himself back into the present and answered, with a huge grin on his face, "Relatia is the name of our Mistress. She controls time and space."

Paula frowned in confusion. "But… I thought that was Dialga and Palkia's job."

Mason chuckled. "Heh… Relatia is _much_ more powerful than both of them combined. She's the _goddess_ of time and space."

Everyone's jaws dropped in disbelief and they exclaimed, "A _GODDESS_?!"

"Of course. Why else do you think the Time Gears would be something as out-of-place here as gears? It's because Relatia's symbol is a gear," Mason explained. Then he pointed at his bracelet. "It's also why we wear Time Gear bracelets and why there's one emblazoned on Laura's belt; it marks us as Relatia's people."

Dugtrio shook his head, having trouble comprehending the information. "All right… but what does that have to do with this cave?"

"It's _Relatia's_ Cave," Laura began, surprising everyone with her willingness to talk and explain. "Since she's the goddess of time and space, the _rules_ of time and space do not apply." She gestured widely with her hands. "Right now, we're standing in the past, present, future, _and_ the no longer existent future where Grovyle and I lived, as well as many _other_ multiple dimensions."

Loudred creased his brows. "Then… what's to stop pokémon from all those OTHER time periods from coming here NOW while _WE'RE_ still here? And how will WE make it back to our OWN time?!" he demanded.

Mason chuckled again at everyone's worried expressions. "You don't have to worry," he assured, "it's locked from the inside. We'll automatically be returned to the time and place we entered from. Only Relatia has the power to change the destination while _inside_ the cave."

Laura and Mason laughed when everyone sighed in relief, and then Laura blushed and clutched her stomach when it started to growl.

Mason spun around, suddenly worried. "Laura! You need to eat something!" he told her. "Your metabolism is different now!"

"Not to mention the fact that you haven't been able to eat anything for the past few days," Paula added. "Actually, I'm surprised that you haven't passed out from hunger yet…"

Laura's blush deepened, prompting Croagunk to comment, "Well, _one_ thing's for sure, Laura… that pale human skin of yours is going to make it _really_ hard to hide your embarrassment from now on, meh heh heh…"

As if to prove his point, Laura blushed even harder, causing everyone to laugh.

After dinner (where everyone found out that Laura's taste buds remained the same no matter _what_ form she was in, as evidenced by the fact that Plain Seeds were _still_ her favorite food) everyone got ready for bed. Mason and the other boys headed into the room with the sand-colored door with the strange engravings that made Laura's heart ache while Laura herded the other girls into the room with the flowery door. The girls were amazed and wanted to inspect everything, like Laura's still-drying gray outfit, the other clothing items stored in the chests near the corner, and the scenes painted on the walls. Laura suggested that the other girls sleep on the bed (as they were all small and would fit) while she made herself a bed on the floor, but the pokémon had never seen a human bed before and were a little intimidated. They insisted that _she_ take the bed while _they_ slept on the floor. It took a while for them to coax Laura into agreement, but once everything was settled, it didn't take long for everyone to drift off.

* * *

A few hours before dawn, Laura quietly slipped out of her room and headed back to the table and mirror where she had earlier gotten her haircut. She began to adorn herself with miniature Time Gears from the bag with the brush and scissors that she had left out earlier and the more she put on the more she began to look like the statue of the girl behind the ornate door (sans the long hair). For a final touch she put on a Time Gear necklace, but she had trouble with the clasp.

"Let me help you with that," a voice said from behind her. She glanced back to see that it was Mason, and she nodded, allowing him to clasp it for her.

"…Thank you," she said when he was done, folding her hands in her lap.

Mason bit his lip, briefly glancing away before looking back at her and quietly saying, "…You look beautiful…"

Laura sighed, "Mason…"

"I'm serious!" Mason told her earnestly. "You're so… so very pretty…"

Laura turned and gave him a sharp warning look. "Don't," she ordered. "You _know_ that it will never work. Even if we _did_…" she trailed off and heaved a sad sigh. "…The next one will have forgotten all about you… this… them… _everything_."

"I don't care," Mason insisted.

"…But I _do_," Laura said sadly. "Mason… you _know_ that if we could, I'd…"

Mason sighed despondently. "I… yes, I know. I guess… I guess I'll just have to be content with friendship, huh?" he said, rather bitterly.

"…I'm sorry…" Laura apologized, not missing the bitterness.

Mason sighed at hearing the hurt in her voice, and he told her, "Don't be. It's not _your_ fault…"

He glanced at the ornate door before offering Laura a hand. "Come on," he said. "Let's see if the _two _of us can make it work…"

Laura nodded and accepted his offered hand, allowing him to lead her to the door. Mason opened it and they entered, with the door closing silently behind them…

* * *

_The next morning…_

The female pokémon stretched and sighed happily when they awoke the next morning.

"Yawn… Good morning, Chimecho and Sunflora!" Paula greeted.

"Good morning, Paula!" the two returned.

"Good morning Laur—huh?" Paula said, intending to greet her best friend, but cutting off when she realized that the bed was empty.

"Oh my gosh!" Sunflora exclaimed when she, too, saw the empty bed. "Where's Laura?"

The girls exited the room, intending to see if she had awoken early and gone out to the big room from the night before. She wasn't there. Just before they headed out to see if she was in another area of the cave, the door to the room where the boys had stayed the night before opened and the boys stepped out, looking around in confusion.

"Hey, hey! I don't see Mason out _here_ either!" Corphish said with a frown.

"Oh my gosh! You can't find Mason?" Sunflora asked. "_We_ can't find Laura!"

"Meh heh heh… Well isn't _that _suspicious…" Croagunk said mischievously.

"Golly! Where do you reckon they went?" Bidoof asked.

Wigglytuff blinked when he smelled something sweet wafting through the air. "Mm… that smells _good_!" he exclaimed. "Just like Apples!"

He rushed off in search of the source of the smell, everyone else rushing after him in alarm.

"Wait, Guildmaster! If you open any strange doors, they might get mad at you!" Bidoof called out, recalling the "incident" with the blue-green door from last night.

* * *

The group followed their noses and ended up in what appeared to be a kitchen. They were surprised to see Mason sitting at a table, massaging his forehead and looking worried about something. He had a plate in front of him that contained the remnants of a meal. Laura was in the kitchen as well, but she was busy cooking something on the stove. She still had on all her Time Gear adornments, but she had put on a pink checkered apron over her dress. Mason looked up at the guild and Paula's approach.

"Oh… Good morning, everyone," he greeted in a rather subdued voice.

His greeting prompted Laura to glance over at the door and give a brief nod of acknowledgement before turning her attention back to the stove.

"How long have you two been up?" Paula asked.

Laura shrugged, "A few hours." She flipped something golden in the pan that she was holding before transferring it to a plate on the table. "Is anyone hungry? I made Apple turnovers for breakfast."

"'Breakfast?'" Paula asked curiously, hopping up onto one of the chairs surrounding the table.

"It's a morning meal," Mason explained. "As I said last night, humans' metabolisms are different than pokémon's. They need to eat more often. Besides," he glanced over at Laura, "these are really good."

Laura blushed, but otherwise ignored Mason's compliment, as she turned off the stove.

"Yay! Apples!" Wigglytuff cheered as he hopped onto a chair and started gobbling down turnovers.

The other pokémon joined in as well, any hesitation they might have had vanished the instant they took their first bite.

"WOW!" Loudred exclaimed, his mouth full of food. "This is DELICIOUS!"

Laura gave a smile of gratitude, but Loudred's lack of manners disgusted Sunflora, and she decided to let him know by saying, "Ew! Oh my gosh, Loudred! You shouldn't talk when you have food in your mouth like that!"

That set off another round of bickering between the two, but no one bothered trying to stop it this time. They were too busy eating Laura's delicious cooking.

"When did you learn to cook like this?!" Dugtrio demanded.

Laura frowned and glanced away, seeming saddened by something. "…I've been cooking ever since I was big enough to hold the utensils," she said quietly. Then she sighed and shook off her negative feelings before taking off her apron.

"Anyways… I'll be back in a bit," she said as she headed out of the room.

Wigglytuff paused in eating and looked at her in confusion, asking, "Huh? Aren't _you_ going to eat?"

Laura shook her head and headed out, calling back, "I already did!"

Once she was out of sight, Mason gazed in the direction she had retreated and sighed rather wistfully, prompting Paula to ask, "Is something wrong?"

Mason startled before assuring, "Oh! No… no, it's nothing. But, uh… as soon as Laura returns, we should probably get going. I'm concerned about the Time Gears…"

Everyone paused as a gloomy mood descended; they shared the sentiment.

* * *

About ten minutes passed, and there was still no sign of Laura. Mason had wandered off to replenish the supplies stored in the bag around his waist, and Loudred was starting to become agitated.

"What's TAKING Laura so long?" he grumbled. "We can't just SIT AROUND all day! We have IMPORTANT things to do! Where did she even GO?"

"Probably back to the room where we stayed last night," Chimecho guessed.

"Gr… I'm going to go GET her!" Loudred growled, stomping off towards the room with the flower-painted door.

He heard strange rustling noises coming from within it, but he ignored them and flung the door open, demanding, "Hey, LAURA! What's TAKING so long?!"

Laura had been facing away from the door, but the instant it opened she whipped around and stared at her unexpected visitor with wide, horrified eyes. The look startled Loudred, and he studied her closely to see if he could find the cause.

Laura… more of her skin was showing than the previous times he'd seen her. Her stomach was completely bare, but her chest was obscured by a red piece of cloth that she seemed to be in the process of putting on. And the piece of clothing on the lower half of her body seemed _very_ short, and barely covered any of her legs. He noticed other articles of clothing spread out on the bed.

"Uh… What are you DOING?" Loudred wondered.

At hearing his voice, Laura blushed crimson, sucked in a big breath, and…

* * *

_A few moments earlier…_

"All right, I'm all set to go!" Mason declared as he re-entered the kitchen where the guild and Paula were waiting. He frowned when he noticed that Loudred was missing. "Where's Loudred?"

"He went to go see what was taking Laura so long," Chimecho informed him.

"He did WHAT?!" Mason demanded, just as Laura's shriek resounded through the cave.

"LOUDRED, GET_ OUT_!"

"Oh no…" Mason moaned as he sped off towards her, the others following, alarmed by Laura's uncharacteristically angry–sounding voice.

They came to a halt in the main room, and were stunned by the peculiar sight of Loudred scrambling away from Laura's room while being pelted with various items (pillows, brushes of both the hair and paint variety, a small _chair_, etc.) while Laura continued to shriek, "GET OUT!" at the top of her lungs.

Finally, when she seemed to have run out of items to throw, Laura demanded, "AND _STAY_ OUT!" before slamming the door shut.

Slowly, everyone turned to face Loudred, who was on the ground. "OW!" he complained as he clutched at his pounding head. "She has QUITE the arm! What was THAT for?"

Mason glared at him. "Gr… You MORON!" he insulted before slapping Loudred upside the head and angrily turning his back on him.

"OW!" Loudred complained again. "What was _THAT_ for?!"

* * *

Laura resurfaced about ten minutes later, the majority of her skin once more covered by clothing. She caught sight of Loudred and immediately crossed her arms and turned her back on him with a "Humph!"

She was in one of her rare bad moods, and everyone watched her warily as she put her room back in order and ignored any and all attempts made to calm her down. She was still refusing speak to or even _look_ at Loudred when the final preparations for the journey home were being made, and Loudred finally got fed up.

"I don't see what the big DEAL is…" he muttered.

Of course, his "muttering" wasn't exactly quiet, so Laura heard him and finally acknowledged his existence by shooting back, "The 'big deal' is that you barged into my room when I was still changing clothes and you saw me half-_naked_!"

Loudred rolled his eyes. "Well it's not like I haven't seen you ALL naked before! We ALL did when you were a treecko!"

Laura (and, surprisingly, Mason) blushed a deep crimson at this before saying, "Exactly! That was when I was a _pokémon_! It didn't _matter_ then! But it matters a _lot_ now that I'm a human again! _Especially_ because you're a boy!"

"What does THAT have to do with anything?" Loudred asked in honest confusion.

Laura blushed harder and began to tremble in rage before suddenly remembering how odd some of her human behaviors had seemed to Grovyle. She quickly calmed down. "Look," she sighed, "just… just don't do it again, okay? Forget you ever saw that!"

Loudred frowned; he wasn't going to let it go that easily. "What was wrong with what you were wearing EARLIER?" he asked.

Laura rolled her eyes. "I can't wear a _priestess_ outfit in a Mystery Dungeon! It would get dirty! And besides," she blushed shyly, "I made this outfit specifically for the past. I spent a lot of time dyeing the reverse side of my gray outfit… but I never even got a chance to wear it!"

Mason studied it before musing, "Although, one could make the argument that you were wearing it the entire time, given what it's supposed to make you look like."

Laura blinked and looked down thoughtfully at her clothing. He had a point…

"Huh?" Bidoof asked. "Oof… I don't get it…"

"Look closely," Mason said with a grin. "What does her outfit remind you of?"

Everyone studied Laura. She had on a red tank top and green pants. The cloth that had previously been tied around her waist as a skirt was now tied around her shoulders as a green shawl. She was also wearing green shoes on her feet. Her belt was dark green (with a Time Gear emblem at the front in the center) and tied in a large bow in the back. She was wearing a green bandana and had braided some of the Time Gear adornments into her shortened hair. She was also, of course, wearing her Time Gear bracelet and Time Gear embroidered ribbon around her wrist. Paula was the first to recognize what was so familiar about the ensemble.

"Oh!" she exclaimed. "I get it! That outfit… it makes you look like a treecko!"

"Oh my gosh! It totally does!" Sunflora agreed.

Wigglytuff clapped his hands. "Wow, Laura! You must really _like _treeckos!" he guessed. "You're dressed as one… and you even turned _into_ one!"

"My, my, that certainly seems to be the case!" Chatot agreed. But then he frowned in confusion and asked, "But given that you worship the goddess of time and space… wouldn't it have made more sense for you to turn into a celebi, like Mason?"

Laura frowned. "Probably," she admitted. "But…" she trailed off and glanced away.

"But…?" everyone prompted.

Laura was silent for a moment longer before she looked back and admitted, "I think that the reason I became a treecko is that treeckos were imprinted on me as being good pokémon when I was very young. I mean, Grovyle was my first _real_ friend…" she trailed off and frowned before amending, "Well, at least… the first friend who was a friend purely because he _wanted_ to be one, and not just because he was afraid that Dialga would kill him if I didn't at least _tolerate_ him."

She stopped and looked at everyone's incredulous stares and lost expressions before blushing and nervously continuing, "Uh, Anyways… the point is that Grovyle was one of the few friends that I had growing up, and he was still Treecko when I met him."

"Really? He was still a treecko?" Paula asked in surprise. "Then… when did he evolve?"

"Hey, hey! Yeah! And how did you two meet?" Corphish added.

Laura thought for a moment before smiling and sitting down, drawing her knees up to her chest.

"Well," she began, "I was just four years old at the time…"


	31. Ch 30: Shock in the Dark

**Chapter 30: Chapter 30: Shock in the Dark**

"_Uh, Anyways… the point is that Grovyle was one of the few friends that I had growing up, and he was still Treecko when I met him."_

_"Really? He was still a treecko?" Paula asked in surprise. "Then… when did he evolve?"_

_"Hey, hey! Yeah! And how did you two meet?" Corphish added._

_Laura thought for a moment before smiling and sitting down, drawing her knees up to her chest._

_"Well," she began, "I was just four years old at the time…"_

* * *

_In the dark future…_

The trees were grey and lifeless. There was no wind, and an eerie silence pervaded the air. But the treecko who was shuffling along the floor of the petrified forest didn't seem to notice. The only attention he paid to the surroundings was a brief sweep for dangers every now and again. He seemed preoccupied with something, and he was mumbling angrily under his breath.

"Grumble… grumble… I still can't _believe_ they wouldn't let me come!" he muttered. "I could've handled myself! They didn't have to _abandon_ me like that…! Grumble… grumble…"

He paused when his stomach growled, and he sighed, "I'm _starving_… I'd better find some food…"

The treecko continued on and eventually made it to an Apple tree. The round, red fruits were one of the few colorful things in the area. The treecko stood up on two legs and surveyed the tree, looking for a good bushel of Apples to knock down. When he found one, he grinned and attacked.

"Leaf Storm!" he cried out.

The attack hit the tree and caused a few Apples to fall, but the treecko frowned when he saw that his aim had been a little off and had gouged a huge hole in the branch. Then he shrugged. At least he had gotten some food… and as long as there was nothing _else_ weighing down the branch, there was no danger of it breaking.

Unfortunately for the him, there _was_ something else on the branch. Just when he had crawled beneath the tree to collect the Apples, he heard a loud "CRACK!" and looked up in alarm, just in time to see the branch, along with something _else_, begin to fall directly on top of him.

He yelped loudly in alarm and confusion, but, for some reason, he thought he heard an echo… as if someone _else_ were yelping at the same time…

But he didn't have a lot of time to ponder that, as the falling things landed on him and knocked him to the ground.

"Ow…!" he groaned as he untangled himself from the heap. "What the heck?"

He shook himself off before looking to see what had landed on him. He was shocked to see that, along with the branch, there was some sort of strange… _gangly_ creature on the ground. He couldn't really see much of its skin, as it seemed to be covered in ripped cloth (which he thought had once been white, but was now too dirty to really tell) and… were those _blue_ bandages? That part was weird… as was its fur. It was brown, which wasn't too strange, except… it only seemed to grow on the creature's head… and part of it was tied back with crooked, white ribbons.

The creature was face down, but soon enough it stirred, moaning as it sat up. It rubbed its eyes, and when the treecko caught sight of its wrist he was startled by the bracelet it wore. It was a miniature gear of blue-green color, held on its wrist by a ribbon that was embroidered with more gears. When the creature stood up, the treecko jumped back in alarm and got into a defensive position. But all thoughts of defense were shoved from his mind when the creature opened its eyes and he saw how beautiful and… _colorful_, they were.

He had never seen anything like that before… but he remembered hearing about something similar that would probably describe them. _"A rainbow…"_ he thought in awe. _"That must be what a rainbow looks like…"_

The creature seemed just as surprised as the treecko was, but when it suddenly moved forward, the treecko immediately jumped back into his defensive stance. But it turned out to be an overreaction; all that the creature did was clasp its hands together and blurt out, in a voice that was _very_ young and feminine, "I'm sorry!"

The treecko's widened in shock and he staggered back. "I… what?" he asked, seeming to have trouble finding his words. "You… _I_ just knocked _you_ out of a tree… and _you're_ the one apologizing?!"

The girl blinked, her brows furrowing in confusion. "Yeah…?" she said slowly, as if the answer was obvious.

The treecko's jaw dropped. "I… who—no, _what—_the heck _are_ you?" he demanded once he found his voice.

The girl smiled, which further surprised the treecko, and obliged by introducing herself. "I'm Laura! A human girl!"

The treecko staggered back further with even wider eyes. "A h-human?! _You're_ a human?! B-but what's a _human_ doing in this forest?! And why were you in a _tree_?!"

The girl's smile fell and she looked away. Finally she quietly replied, "…Sleeping."

Treecko frowned, partly because she had ignored his first question, but mainly because of the answer she _had_ given. "'Sleeping?'" he repeated. When she nodded, he asked, "Don't you have a _home_?"

Laura paused again before hesitantly shaking her head. The hesitation confused the treecko, but before he could ask anything else, the duo was startled by a crashing noise resounding a few feet away.

"Oh no…" the girl whimpered, her already pale face rapidly draining of any remaining color. "I have to go! It was nice meeting you… uh…" she trailed off, realizing that the treecko hadn't introduced himself.

The treecko rolled his eyes, deciding to humor her. "I'm Treecko," he said. Then he decided to go a step further and added, "And here's bit of advice: If you're going to keep sleeping in trees, make sure they don't have _food_ in them first. Unless you _like_ getting knocked out of them, that is," he finished with a sly grin.

The girl blushed with embarrassment, but then her face paled again when another crash resounded. She immediately pushed Treecko into a nearby bush, ignoring his obvious confusion and alarm, and urgently whispered, "Thanks! And… HIDE!"

With that, she ran off, leaving Treecko huddled in the bushes. He would have been annoyed at the creature's—the _human's_—actions… if it wasn't for the crashes that were getting louder and louder the closer they came to his hiding place. Finally the mystery of what was causing them was revealed when he heard voices and saw the purple feet that were distinctive to sableye. He couldn't see a lot from his perspective, but he could tell that there were four total, and they appeared to be frantically searching for something. Or, rather, some_one_.

"Can you see any sign of her, Un? Dos? Cuatro?"

"Wheh heh heh… No, Cinq! Dos, are you _sure_ she went this way?"

"She _had_ to have! I can still smell those flowers on her skin!"

"So can I! And besides, she can't have gone _too_ far. She's just a little kid!"

"And with those injuries…"

"Eep!" They all suddenly chorused. "We'd better find her soon!"

With that, the group rushed off. Treecko waited a few moments before cautiously creeping out of his hiding place. He glanced around, and once he saw that it was all clear, he scurried off towards home.

"_Well _that _was weird…"_ he decided. _"Who were those sableye looking for, anyways? It couldn't have been that human girl… could it?"_ He paused and glanced back. _"Come to think of it… _she_ was weird too. She wasn't threatening at _all_… even though she had _every_ reason to attack me! _I_ was in the wrong… but _she's_ the one who apologized! It was almost as if she felt… _guilty,_ or something."_

At that thought Treecko's eyes widened and he froze. _"But that… that's _absurd_! This is a poochyena eat poochyena world! No one ever feels _guilty_ about stuff, even if it _is_ their fault! Especially not my parents…"_ He shook off that sad thought before continuing, _"I don't know why I'm even thinking about this. It's not as though I'll ever see that kid again…"_

* * *

_The next "day"… _

Treecko was out training hard as usual, following his normal routine. As he made his way to his favorite training grounds he worked on endurance and attacking while in motion, so his training consisted of him running around and punching trees. Or at least… _attempting_ to punch trees. It was times like these where he really longed for evolution. Grovyles could run on two legs and leave their hands free for attacks, but treeckos were confined to four legs, which meant that his punching attempts often tripped him up. This was why he didn't dare try out this new technique when he was faced with the inhabitants of Mystery Dungeons. Unlike in the past, where their only goal was to make you faint, the inhabitants of the Mystery Dungeons in the dark world were out for _blood_.

Just when he had almost reached his training grounds, he heard a voice belonging to one of his least favorite pokémon in the world.

"Chaw-haw-haw! Well, well! Look who we have here!"

Treecko internally groaned, _"Oh, _great_… it's the _Stunky_ siblings!"_

Sure enough, when he glanced over, there they were: a trio of stunkies consisting of an older sister and the younger, fraternal twins.

"Oh, Brother! It looks like the little green chicken here is going off to train some more!" the female twin said to her brother, acting as though Treecko couldn't hear her.

"I think you're right!" the male twin concurred, playing along. "Gee, why do you think he trains so hard every day?"

"Well, I don't have a clue! Do _you_ know, Big Sister?" the girl replied, turning towards her older sister.

"Chaw-haw-haw! Why of _course_!" the eldest replied smugly. "It's because his parents abandoned him and now he has to fend for himself!"

Up to that point Treecko had been ignoring the trio, but that comment made him see red and he whipped around to confront them. "Take that back!" he demanded.

"Now why would I do that?" the eldest asked, feigning confusion. "It's the truth!"

"I said take it BACK!" Treecko yelled. "I MEAN it!"

When the Stunky siblings just laughed, Treecko growled and shot an Energy Ball attack at them. Unfortunately, his anger had rendered him unable to focus, and the shot missed them by a wide margin.

"_That's_ the result of all your training?" the male snickered. "You're even weaker than that human girl!"

"I'll say!" his twin agreed. "And _she_ didn't even fight back!"

With that the trio scampered away, still laughing at Treecko's failed attack.

"Gr… I _hate_ those three!" Treecko growled. Then he paused as something they had said finally registered. "Wait a minute… did they say 'human?' Did they meet that human girl too?" He pondered that for a moment before shaking his head. "Oh… what does it even matter?" he sighed.

* * *

Treecko continued on his way and soon ended up in a relatively tree-free area. There were tons of boulders there, though. Treecko surveyed them before picking one and heading over, deciding that it would be a perfect target for Iron Tail practice.

Treecko ran forward and screamed, "Iron—" just before falling into a Pitfall Trap.

"Augh!" he yelped as he landed on his stomach.

Treecko groaned as he looked up. The hole he had fallen into was really deep… he tried to jump and climb out, but it was no use. He was _far_ too little.

"Oh no… what am I gonna do…?" he moaned in despair.

Treecko was stuck down there for what felt like hours, but what could have—in reality—been mere minutes. It was hard to tell, considering the fact that time was all but frozen in the dark world. Either way, Treecko was down there long enough to begin feeling hungry again. He groaned as he pulled his knees to his stomach in an attempt to ease the pain. But his thoughts of misery and self-pity were interrupted when he heard a childish voice.

"Wow! That's a _big _hole!"

Treecko's eyes widened as he recognized it. "Oh, you've got to be _kidding_ me!" he exclaimed.

"Huh? Treecko? Is that you?" the voice asked in confusion. When a face suddenly peered over the edge of the pit, Treecko's suspicions were confirmed: it was the little human girl again. What was her name…? Oh, right: Laura.

"What are you doin' down there?" she asked.

Treecko glared. "What does it _look_ like I'm doing?" he demanded. "I fell in this hole, and now I'm stuck!"

"Do you need help?"

Treecko's eyes widened. Once again, the girl had shocked him. "H-help?" he repeated, the word feeling foreign on his tongue.

The girl got a thoughtful look on her face before it lit up, as if she'd gotten an idea. She disappeared for a moment, but when she came back, she cheerily ordered, "Use this!" and threw something down the hole.

When Treecko caught the object and inspected it, he gasped. "This… this is a TM for the move Dig!" he exclaimed in disbelief. Then he looked up at Laura with wide eyes. "Why are you giving it to _me_?" he demanded.

Laura just grinned at him and giggled, and Treecko's emotions were caught between annoyance and… a strange… _pleasant_ feeling… Either way, he quickly booted up the TM, used it, and then he dug himself out of the hole and up to where Laura was waiting for him expectantly.

"…Thank you," Treecko said awkwardly.

Laura beamed at him, giggling again when she heard Treecko's stomach growl. She dug into a small, tattered bag that Treecko hadn't noticed the last time he saw her and offered him an Apple.

Treecko stared at it in awe. "Why… why are you giving this to me?" he asked, stuttering a bit.

Laura frowned. "Aren't you hungry?" she asked.

Treecko gulped. "W-well yeah, but…"

Laura's smile returned and she happily said, "_That's_ why!" Then she stood up and dusted off her legs. "It was nice to see you again, but I have to go now. Bye-bye!" she told him with a little wave before she walked away. As she retreated, Treecko frowned when he noticed that she was limping… but then he shrugged and took a bite of his Apple.

"_Why does she keep helping me out like this?"_ he wondered as he munched on the fruit. _"This is only the second time that I've met her!"_

* * *

Meanwhile, Laura was still limping slowly along, looking for a safe place to sleep.

"Chaw-haw-haw! Well looky here! It's that little human again!" a voice suddenly interrupted from her right. Laura glanced over, and, sure enough, it was the Stunky siblings again.

"I'm surprised that you can still walk after the beating we gave you…" the eldest continued.

Laura cocked her head and studied them for a moment before looking away and trudging onwards.

The eldest spluttered indignantly for a moment before regaining her composure. "Ooh… The silent treatment, huh? Perhaps we should arrange a punishment for that!" she said maliciously.

"I concur!" her brother chimed in. "Why don't we dig a pitfall trap for her, just like the one we made for that chicken Treecko?"

Laura froze in place and slowly turned around. "…_You_ made that trap?" she asked quietly.

"Chaw-haw-haw! Guilty as charged!" the eldest snickered.

Laura glared at them before suddenly lunging, attacking them with a flurry of fists and kicks. Granted, since she was barely past the toddler stage and she was already injured, her attacks were too weak to actually _do_ much… but since they were so unexpected she managed to get in a few hits before the trio shook off their surprise and began to fight back.

* * *

As this was going on, Treecko, who had finished his Apple, was wandering around the area as well, looking for a new place to train, as the possibility of finding more traps made the last one unsafe. But when he heard the sounds of a fight, he immediately ducked behind a bush to hide.

"Ow! Man, this chick is _crazy_!"

"Yeah, but _this_ should put her in her place!"

The familiar voices caught Treecko's interest, and he cautiously peeked out from his hiding spot to observe.

"_Looks like the Stunky siblings have found someone else to beat up on,"_ he noted. But when he registered just _who_ said victim was, he frowned. _"Wait a minute…! It's that kid_ again_!"_

It was, indeed, Laura… and she was losing. She was wobbling on her feet, and Treecko winced as another blow to her thigh sent out a spray of blood and added volume to the already sizeable stream of it flowing down her legs.

Treecko palmed his face before debating something, sighing in annoyance, and, with a final thought of, _"I can't believe I'm actually going to do this…"_ stepped out of the bushes.

"Hey!" he called out, causing a momentary pause in the fight. "Isn't three against one a little unfair?"

The eldest stunky quickly recovered from her surprise and went back to pounding on Laura. "'Unfair?'" she repeated. "Hey, _she's_ the little psycho who started it! But if you're so keen on her safety… then by all means, join in!"

With that she turned around and set her sights on Treecko. "After all, _you're_ the reason she's fighting in the first place, chaw-haw-haw!" she taunted before rearing up and releasing a Smog attack.

Treecko swiftly avoided the attack and joined in the fight on Laura's side. The duo became a mess of flying kicks and punches, with the occasional Iron Tail and Leaf Storm thrown in. Very quickly the stunky siblings began to tire… and the youngest sister fainted.

Everyone stopped and stared at her unconscious form in shock before the oldest recovered enough to growl, "You're gonna regret this!" before scooping her sister up by the nape of her neck and scurrying away with her brother.

A stunned Laura and Treecko watched their retreating forms for a moment before Treecko murmured, "I can't believe it… they… they actually _lost_! To _me_!"

A grin spread across his face and a few exultant giggles escaped before a weak cough from beside him reminded him that he wasn't alone. "What were you _thinking_?" he demanded as he turned to face Laura. "Why would you…" he trailed off when he caught sight of Laura. "…Kid? Hey, kid? Are you okay?"

Laura was all but _covered _in blood and she had fallen to her knees. Her chest was heaving, and she kept making choking noises. She lifted her face to look at Treecko, and he could see that it displayed an expression of pure terror. The skin on her face that wasn't stained red with blood was either blue from what seemed to be a lack of oxygen or purple from…

"GAH!" Treecko exclaimed when it clicked. "You've been poisoned!"

Treecko quickly whipped around and scanned the area for something that could help. To his relief, he spotted a Pecha Berry tree nearby and immediately cut some of the fruit down. He brought it back to Laura and hurriedly shoved a berry into her mouth. To his horror, it didn't seem to have any affect. In desperation he shoved even more of the berries into her mouth and forced her to swallow them. He sighed when it seemed to work and the purple stain of the poison receded from her skin.

"Th-thank you…" Laura managed to say through her gasping breaths. "You s-saved m… my l-life…"

Treecko tried to hide his blush at the praise by turning his back on her and gruffly saying, "Well if you value your life so much, then you should take better care of it!" He faced her once more and demanded, "I'll ask again: Why would a weak, human kid like you attack a trio of stunky?!" A thought occurred to him, and he added, "And what did they mean when they said that _I_ was the reason you attacked?"

Laura finally caught her breath and looked straight into his eyes. "…They dug the traps," she explained quietly.

Treecko's gruff façade instantly evaporated and he stared at her, dumbfounded once more. _"She… she did that for _me_?"_ he thought. _"But I don't… I hardly even know her!"_

Treecko studied Laura, trying to figure her out. He took in all her injuries and the blood covering her and sighed. "…You should really go home and get cleaned up."

Laura glanced away and shook her head, saying, "Can't. Told you: Don't have one."

Treecko frowned. "Why? Did you get kicked out?" he asked. He wouldn't have been surprised; it was a common occurrence in the dark world. In fact, that's what had happened to the Stunky siblings.

Laura shook her head again. "No. I ran away," she explained.

Treecko frowned; he wasn't sure how he felt about that statement. She had a home… but she had left it? _Willingly_? He didn't know what her situation had been like, but surely it couldn't have been bad enough to risk living on her own in the wild… right?

Treecko cleared his throat. He was still trying to decipher his emotions, but, in order to glean a better understanding( and since by now he had figured out that this child was not much of a conversationalist) he goaded, "Well… that was pretty stupid of you."

When Laura looked up at him and matched his frown, he continued, "Why would you run from a place of safety? I know _plenty_ of pokémon who'd _love_ a place like that."

Laura's frown vanished and she drew herself up confidently. "I _know_," she surprised Treecko (yet again) by saying. "That's _why_ I ran away."

Treecko just stared at her, utterly dumbfounded, and once more tried to puzzle her out. He winced when he realized that she was still bleeding and sighed eternally, "_I guess I have no other choice…"_

Treecko held out his hand in a beckoning gesture. "Come one," he ordered, "I'm taking you back to my place."

Laura stared at him in surprise, and then she shivered when Treecko glared at her fiercely and suddenly demanded, "But you can't tell _anyone_. I want the location to remain a secret."

After Laura gulped nervously and nodded in the affirmative, Treecko turned on his heel and began to head in his home's direction. But when he heard a soft sound, like fabric ripping, he immediately turned back just in time to see Laura covering her eyes with a blindfold that she had made from ripping the hem out of the already ruined cloth covering her body. He staggered back a few steps when he realized that the reason she was doing it was because he had told her that he didn't want anyone to know where he lived, and she counted herself as part of that "anyone" category. His heart again got that light and pleasant feeling…

"…I didn't mean you, kid," he said gently. "Now, take that off or you won't be able to see where you're going.

Treecko suppressed a laugh as the girl sheepishly did as he asked, and the two headed out of the area.

* * *

Unfortunately for them, they had forgotten about Laura's injuries. Or, rather, they forgot the effect that her _bleeding _ones had on the surroundings. The blood that flowed from her body left a trail of bright crimson in her wake… one that could easily be found and followed by an enemy…

Indeed, mere moments after the duo left, a frantic sableye stumbled upon the trail. He sniffed the air, and then his eyes widened in both relief and alarm.

"Wheh heh heh! Everyone! I found something!" he called out.

"Really, Un?!" his compatriots responded as they rushed over.

"Yes! Look!" Un replied as he pointed at the ground. "Blood! And it smells like hers!"

"Wheh heh heh… I guess you were right, Dos," one of them, the apparent leader of the four, said, turning to the sableye on his left. "She really _did_ go this way."

Dos smirked, and the remaining sableye snickered, "Wheh heh heh… You should know by now not to doubt Dos when it comes to Miss Laura, Cinq."

Cinq huffed and rolled his eyes before looking back to the blood and frowning. The sableye who had teased him looked back to it as well and dropped his smirk. "There's so much blood… was she in a fight?" he asked worriedly.

"I don't know, Cuatro," Cinq replied. "But, wheh heh heh… it doesn't bode well…"

Cinq and Cuatro were startled out of their melancholy when Dos suddenly cried out, "Look! There's more of it over there!"

The others looked to where he was pointing and, sure enough, there _was_ more. As everyone gathered around the new puddle, Dos sniffed the air some more and his eyes zeroed in on some bushes. He left the group and pushed back some of the bushes' branches, jolting when he found even _more_ blood.

"Wheh heh heh… It's… it's a _trail_…" he gulped, feeling nauseous about what that entailed for the one they were trying to find.

Un's head snapped up and he scurried to Dos' side to investigate for himself. When he found that, to his displeasure for what it signified, his assessment matched Dos', he suggested, "Let's follow it! Wheh heh heh… I bet it will lead us straight to her!"

"Yeah!" the others agreed with a cheer. But just as they were about to take their first steps into the bushes…

"Wait a moment," a voice called out, causing the sableye to pause and look back to the shadows of the tree line they had just come from.

"Wheh heh heh… But Lord Dusknoir… shouldn't we catch her before she has the chance to run away again?" Cuatro asked.

The addressed pokémon glided forward, coming out of the shadows and closer to his minions to inspect the puddles of blood with a frown. "It is true that we need to find and catch her as soon as possible," Dusknoir agreed. "However, if we simply give _chase_ she will most definitely run again, even _if_ we manage to catch her and bring her back. It will only be a matter of… for lack of a better term, 'time.'"

The sableye frowned and exchanged glances before Cuatro cleared his throat and asked, "Wheh heh heh… Then what do we do?"

Dusknoir rubbed his chin in thought. "We must give her a reason to _want_ to come—and s_tay_—with us willingly," he said with a decisive nod. Then he glanced back at the blood and added in a serious tone, "Preferably before she is further injured…"

The sableye winced before saluting and chorusing, "Wheh heh heh! Yes, Master Dusknoir!"

After carefully marking the area so that they could easily find it again, the group left in order to formulate a plan…


	32. Ch 31: Reminiscence

**Chapter 31: Reminiscence**

Treecko brought Laura to another clump of bushes. At first glance, they looked like every other bush in the petrified forest, but upon closer inspection Laura noticed a natural part in the branches, almost as if it were a curtain… Indeed, when Treecko parted the branches further it revealed that they formed a cover for an underground cavern. He gestured for Laura to crawl in, and she complied.

Treecko's home was small and sparsely decorated. The walls had gobs of sticky sap and bits of ripped paper stuck to them, as if they had once contained posters that had since been removed. There was a basin of water off to the side with a few homemade canteens and a stack of rags leaning against it. In the very center of the cavern was a small fire pit surrounded by three beds made of hay—two big ones and one smaller one. By one of the bigger beds was bag filled to the brim with healing items, and by the other was a (mostly empty) bag of food.

Treecko directed Laura to sit near the unlit fire pit before going over to the water basin, filling up a canteen, and snagging a few rags from the stack. He also grabbed the bag of healing supplies before returning to Laura.

"What's with that cloth you're wearing, anyways?" he asked as he opened up the bag and began sorting through the items.

Laura giggled. "It's my dress," she replied, as if the answer was obvious.

When Treecko's only response was to throw a nonplussed stare her way, she sighed in annoyance and huffed, "Humans aren't like pokémon. We hafta wear clothes. These are mine."

Treecko still didn't get it, but he decided that it wasn't important at the moment. "Whatever. Take it off," he ordered.

Laura's eyes widened and she blushed. "I can't do _that_!" she exclaimed.

"Why not?" Treecko scowled.

Laura looked at him incredulously. "You're a _boy_!"

Treecko rolled his eyes. Again, he didn't understand what she was talking about. But he decided to ignore it because at this point he was getting annoyed and seriously beginning to regret bringing her back with him. "Yeah, well I'm a boy who's trying to _help_ you! We have to clean your wounds, and we can't do that if you're covered in that… 'dress,' so take it off!" he demanded again.

Laura blushed a deeper crimson and averted her eyes as she slowly lowered her hands to the hem of her garment and began to tug it up over her body.

"Humans are weird," Treecko grumbled, nearly under his breath, but not so quietly that Laura couldn't pick up his every word. "I swear… you've lost so much blood that I'm surprised you haven't passed out yet and you're more worried about your '_clothing_?'"

"…I've had worse," Laura quietly responded, causing Treecko to look up from where he had been wetting a rag with his canteen. The instant he did, his eyes widened in alarm and he nearly dropped the items he was holding.

Laura… at this point her dress was completely off and she was sitting there wearing only a short cloth around her waist that covered her to the uppermost part of her legs and the cloth coverings on her feet. Treecko was horrified to see that even without the dress, Laura's body was _still_ swathed in cloth; the blue bandages he had seen earlier weren't merely confined to her arms and legs, but, instead, were wrapped _all over_ her body. The fight with the Stunky siblings had loosened many of them to reveal multiple injuries, some of which had been _reopened_. She wasn't lying.

"All those wounds…" Treecko whispered in a voice filled with horror. "What _happened_ to you?"

Laura sighed. She glanced at Treecko and noticed how his hands were trembling, causing some of the water to spill out of his canteen. She gingerly took it, and the rag, from him and set them down before beginning to unwind the bandages from her body. "…I… I got in the way," she finally replied. "I wasn't _supposed_ to, but…"

Treecko frowned at the vague answer before finally getting ahold of himself and turning back to the bag of healing supplies. His wonder before at the fact that she hadn't passed out yet was _nothing_ compared to now, and he knew that he needed to hurry if he wanted Laura to _stay_ conscious. He pulled out an Oran Berry and handed it to her, ordering, "Here, eat this."

Laura complied… but the instantaneous closing of at least _some_ of the minor wounds that Treecko was expecting didn't happen. "I don't get it," he mumbled with a frown, "why didn't it work?"

Laura frowned as well before a spark of recognition entered her eyes. "That's right… He said that raw berries n' stuff don't work on humans like they do on pokémon. You hafta do stuff like crush them into pastes or use their juices. Like when he soaked my bandages in Oran Berry juice," she explained. At Treecko's unbelieving stare she blushed again and mumbled, "Humans are weak… I _know_."

"_No arguments here,_" Treecko thought as he rifled through the medical bag for bandages. "So who was the one that told you this?" he asked once he found the bandages and began to squeeze Oran Berry juice onto them. "Your father…?"

When Treecko didn't receive an answer, he glanced up to see that Laura, already pale from blood loss and the general lack of sunlight in the dark world, was turning even paler. She had picked up the wet rag to clean her wounds, but her shuddering was making it hard for her. She was emphatically shaking her head "No." Treecko frowned at her actions before shrugging and returning back to his task; it was really none of his business.

It took a while, but the duo eventually finished cleaning Laura's injuries and she happily put her dress back on. She picked at the cloth, frowning at the rips, tears, and stains, but there was nothing she could really do about it. Sure, she could _try_ to fix it, but at this point it was pretty much a lost cause.

"…Thanks for helping me. I should leave now," Laura said quietly. She stood up to go, but her legs were wobbly and she nearly crashed back down again when she was hit with a case of vertigo.

"Nuh uh," Treecko said, automatically reaching out to tug her back down. "You won't be able to go anywhere in your condition. You're staying here for now."

Laura bit her lip and glanced at the big, empty beds. Treecko noticed and assured, "You don't have to worry. No one's used those since my parents…" he trailed off, biting his lip. "No one… no one uses those."

"…How long have you been alone?" Laura asked hesitantly.

Treecko scowled, annoyed that she'd been able to see through his ruse, before he jolted when the implications of what she had just said finally hit him.

"How… 'how long?' What do you mean, 'how long?'" he asked. "Time doesn't exist here. At least… not anymore."

Laura glared at him, and he jolted in shock. "Yes it _does_," Laura insisted, a hint of anger in her tone.

Treecko got over his shock and gave her a glare of his own. "What do you mean?" he demanded. "If time existed, then we—"

Treecko cut himself off when he heard his stomach growl, and Laura looked at him smugly before saying, "See? Proof. I gave you an Apple earlier 'cuz you were hungry… and now you're hungry again!"

Treecko rolled his eyes. "Yeah, I'm hungry because I wasted all that energy when I had to come _rescue _you."

"No!" Laura insisted. "It's 'cuz _time_ passed!"

Treecko just crossed his arms and raised a brow, clearly displaying his disbelief. That made Laura even more upset, and she gestured wildly as she tried to explain, "As we speak, the seconds are ticking by! Time might be slowed, but it _does_ move!"

Treecko uncrossed his arms, but his frown signaled to Laura that he still didn't believe her. She sighed, continuing more calmly this time, "If time didn't exist, we'd all be stuck. _Frozen_… like statues. But we're _not_. Time is relative. It does its best to fit our perceptions." She looked dreamily at her bracelet… and then blushed when her _own_ stomach growled.

Treecko chuckled before his expression turned pensive. _"That's almost like what Mom and Dad used to tell me,"_ he remembered. "…Whatever," he said, frowning as he brushed off his memories and ignored Laura's indignant expression. He turned to the bag of food that was by the other big bed and began to look through it. "Let's just eat. Let's see… what do I have that's still edible…?" He groaned when he identified the bag's miniscule contents. "Ugh… it looks like all I have are _Plain Seeds_…"

Laura's scowl slipped off her face and her eyes lit up with happiness. "Plain Seeds?" she repeated. "I love Plain Seeds!" Treecko's jaw dropped in shock, but she ignored it and rifled through her _own_ bag, pulling out some more Apples. "Here! I'll trade for them!" she offered eagerly.

"You actually _like_ Plain Seeds?" Treecko asked incredulously. At her enthusiastic nod, Treecko eagerly offered her his food bag, saying, "Here then; take 'em."

Laura quickly exchanged her Apples for the bag and immediately took out a seed. The instant she bit into it, her eyes closed in pleasure. Treecko shook his head in amusement when she hummed, "Mm…! So yummy…!"

* * *

As the two were finishing their meal, Laura began to yawn. Treecko directed her to take one of the bigger beds while he took the smaller one. Laura quickly fell asleep, curling up into a tight ball, but Treecko stayed awake for a while longer to sort through his thoughts.

"_She really is strange,"_ he decided as he watched Laura sleep. _"I still can't believe I brought her home… I don't think anyone else but Mom, Dad, and I know about this place…"_ Treecko sighed, bringing his knees up to his chest and staring at the remaining, _empty_, bed. _"Mom… Dad… why did you have to leave me?"_ he wondered._ "Did I do something wrong? Is it because of this dark world? Or did you just love your little 'team' more than _me_—your own _son_…?"_

A whimper from the bed across from him caught his attention, and glanced over to see Laura twitching and shivering, as if she were having a nightmare.

"_Huh… So even a happy kid like her can get nightmares,"_ he observed with interest. _"I wonder what her story is. It must have been pretty bad if she felt the need to run away from home…"_ He cocked his head when Laura curled up even tighter. _"Does she think that's going to offer her any protection? I mean… I guess it makes her a smaller target, but… is she even aware that she's doing that?"_

Treecko yawned and rubbed his eyes. _"I'm tired too… I know I should probably stay awake in case she tries a sneak attack… but… I think it'll be okay for now. She's too injured to do any _real_ damage…"_

Treecko yawned again before lying down and shifting into a more comfortable position. His final thought before falling asleep was, _"It's nice not to sleep alone again… zzz…"_

Treecko's sleep seemed peaceful, but Laura, meanwhile, was still trapped in her nightmare. She tossed and turned, beginning to whimper.

"N-no…" she begged. "D-don't… don't kill them…! _Please_ Dusky…!"

* * *

_Treecko grinned as he returned home from another day of training in the forest. When he crawled down the hole behind the curtain of leaves, he paused for a moment at the strange sight. His mother seemed to be packing up a bag of supplies, and his father was taking down the maps hung up on the wall, the scar from that growlithe's bite clearly displayed on his left arm. _

That_ sight, more than anything else, was his cue that something was wrong. His parents were always protective of those maps. They _never_ took them off the walls. _Ever_. They were always so afraid of them being damaged… so to see his dad removing them so carelessly… not even seeming to notice that the corners were being ripped…_

"_Mom? Dad? Is something wrong?" Treecko asked worriedly._

_Treecko's voice startled the two sceptiles, causing them to jump and whip around to face him. But once they saw who it was they instantly relaxed._

_His mother put a hand over the heart-shaped birthmark on her chest and let out a relieved breath. "Oh, Sweetheart… you startled us!" she exclaimed._

_Treecko winced, "Sorry, Mom," he apologized. "But… what are you doing? Is something wrong? Why are you taking the maps off the wall?"_

"_Nothing is wrong, son," his father assured. "How did your training go today? Were you injured?"_

_Treecko came closer to his father so that it would be easier for him to inspect him; the growlithe that had scarred his arm had also ruined his vision on his left side, leaving a jagged scar over that eye as a testimony. _

"_Training was great! I managed to put a crack in a rock!" Treecko bragged. _

_Treecko's father clapped him on the shoulders. "Attaboy!" he praised. "You're getting so strong! I'm proud of you!"_

_His mother chuckled, "As am I. Now what do you two say about having something to eat?"_

* * *

_After dinner, Treecko's father started a small fire and they all sat down for some quality family time and conversation._

"_Will you tell me another story about the old days?" Treecko asked eagerly. "You know… when time still existed?"_

"_Of course, Sweetheart!" his mother replied with a benevolent smile. "But you know time isn't _gone_. It's just a bit… _broken_."_

"_But… why? What happened?" Treecko asked in confusion._

_His father shook his head. "No one knows, son," he told him. "That's what your mother and I want to find out."_

_Treecko frowned and looked away. "…You're talking about the Planetary Investigation Team, aren't you?" he asked quietly._

"_That's right," his father confirmed. "We formed that team to find out the reasons behind time's downfall and to see if we could do something to fix it and bring the world back to its former glory."_

_Treecko crossed his arms and scowled. As much as he liked hearing about the past, he _hated_ how obsessed his parents were with trying to do the impossible. Time could _never_ be fixed._

"…_Will you just tell me a story… please?" he asked._

_The father sighed at his son's obvious lack of faith before stroking his chin in thought. "…All right," he decided, "have I ever told you about weather?"_

_Treecko's scowl dropped and he cocked his head in curiosity. His father chuckled, "I'll take that as a 'no.' Very well… The weather… think of it someone using a Rainy Orb, but on a much grander scale."_

"_That's it?" Treecko asked, sounding disappointed. "'Weather' was just like the effects of a Rainy Orb? That doesn't _sound_ so amazing…"_

"_Ah, ah, ah…" his father wagged a claw at him. "You're forgetting that I said it was on a 'much grander scale.' The weather… rather than just affecting one small area, such as the floor of a Mystery Dungeon, it would affect a _large_ area. Remember how I told you about towns?" he asked. "Well the weather could affect multiple towns at once!"_

"_Wow…" Treecko breathed in awe._

"_And the weather didn't just come in one type, either," Treecko's father continued. "Aside from rain, there were also things like clouds… hail… wind…"_

_Treecko cocked his head, trying to wrap his mind around this new information. "So… like the stuff that happens when snovers use their Snow Warning ability__to create hail?"_

"_Well… not exactly," his father explained. "The weather was not cause by Orbs or pokémon abilities. It's true that they could _affect_ it… but for the most part it was just a natural occurrence."_

_At Treecko's lost expression, his mother laughed warmly. "I admit that it seems complicated, but the important thing is the result. In fact, there is one type of weather that was very important to Grass-types which your father has neglected to mention…"_

"_Oh, of course! How could I forget?" his father explained, smacking himself on the forehead. "Sunlight!"_

"'_Sunlight?'" Treecko repeated._

"_Yes, sunlight," his father confirmed with a nod. "The sun… it was like a big ball of light in the sky. It rose in the east at the beginning of the day, and set in the west at the end. And the energy it gave off… well, among Grass-types it was a key ingredient in a process known as 'photosynthesis,' which provided extra energy."_

_Treecko's jaw dropped. "Cool…" he whispered in excitement, causing his mother to laugh once more._

"_I agree," she said. "But I think that the 'coolest' thing about the sun was how magnificent the sky was said to look during a sunrise and sunset… From what I've heard, at one point during a sunrise the sky would take on a color similar to your old friend Celebi."_

"_Really?" Treecko asked through a yawn as he snuggled into bed. "I wish _I_ could see a sunrise…" he mumbled sleepily._

_His parents shared a glance filled with determination before his father rubbed his shoulder and told him, "We hope that you'll be able to soon."_

"_Yes," his mother agreed, bending down to kiss his forehead. "But until then… sweet dreams, Sweetheart. And remember… no matter _what_ happens we will always love you and think of you."_

_Treecko gave a contented sigh at the promise and closed his eyes, falling into a sleep filled with dreams of a giant Celebi holding a Luminous Orb rising into the sky…_

* * *

_The next "morning" Treecko awoke and stretched, turning around to face the beds and give his parents his usual greeting._

"_Hello, Mom and Dad! Did you sleep—" he began, cutting off when he noticed that his parents beds were empty._

"—_W-well…?" he finished lamely, looking around in confusion. Something about his home seemed… _off_._

"_M-Mom? Dad? Wh-where are you…?" he whimpered as his eyes continued to scrutinize the cavern. When they got to his father's bed, they zeroed in immediately on a folded piece of paper addressed "To Our Son."_

_His fingers trembling in trepidation, he slowly unfolded the letter, his heart sinking with every word he read…_

"Dearest Treecko,

We are so sorry… but we had to leave you. The Planetary Investigation Team needs us. We wish we could have brought you along, but you are still too young. It would have been far too dangerous for you. But know this: We are doing this for _you_, so that you may have a brighter world to live in. It is our greatest wish that once this is accomplished we will be able to meet you again. Even if you hate us for this… we will always love you so, so much.

Love,

Mom and Dad"

_When he was done reading, Treecko stared at the letter. The trembling in his hands grew tenfold, and he crumpled up the letter and threw it against the wall. He brought his knees up to his chest and put his forehead against them, hugging himself tightly and trying not to cry…_

* * *

Back in the real world it was now "morning," and Laura was alternating between watching the food she was cooking on the embers of last "night's" fire and watching Treecko toss and turn in the throes of his nightmare.

"_Should I wake him up?"_ she wondered. _"He looks like he's having a nightmare, but… he still might get mad at me…"_

When Treecko started to whimper, however, any misgivings she held over waking him immediately vanished and she quickly crawled over to his side to wake him up.

"Treecko?" she whispered. There was no response. She tried again, louder this time, and timidly shook his shoulders. "Treecko… wake up."

That seemed to do the trick and Treecko's eyes immediately snapped open as he jackknifed upright, breathing heavily. This startled Laura, and she fell back in surprise. Treecko rubbed his eyes and blinked rapidly.

"_That dream again… why does that memory have to plague me every time I close my eyes?"_ he demanded silently as he looked around, trying to find something else to focus on. His eyes found Laura just as she was sitting back up, and he unconsciously decided to make her the scapegoat for venting his frustration and sadness.

"What were you trying to do?" he demanded, his eyes narrowing in a glare.

"I j-just wanted to wake you up… y-you looked like you were having a nightmare. B-but not one of the _good_ ones, so…" she stammered. "B-but I'm sorry for w-waking you up if you didn't want to…"

Treecko sighed, his expression softening when he realized that she was just trying to help. But then his brows furrowed when he sniffed the air and smelled… "Is something _burning_?"

At the question, Laura's eyes widened and she immediately whipped around with a gasp, scurrying over to what she had been cooking and hurriedly removing it from the coals. Unfortunately, she was unable to save it from getting burned.

"Your breakfast…" she whimpered. "It's ruined…"

"'Breakfast?' What's that?" Treecko asked curiously, coming over to look.

Laura rolled her eyes. "The morning meal. _Duh._"

Treecko stared blankly at her, causing her to frown. But when the reason for his confusion clicked, she blushed and apologized, "Sorry. I forgot you don't know… Morning is the period from sunrise until noon, when the sun is directly overhead. And the _sun_ is—"

"I know what it is," Treecko interrupted, taking the food from her outstretched hand. He briefly examined it and noted that, behind the burned scent, it smelled like Apples. He took a bite and froze in surprise at how _delicious_ it tasted.

Laura, misinterpreting his expression, immediately bowed her head and started apologizing profusely. Treecko rolled his eyes and reached out a hand—intending to get her to look back up at him—only to drop it in surprise when the girl flinched.

"_Does… does she think I'm going to _hit_ her?"_ he wondered. "Kid! I'm not going to hit you," he assured. "I just wanted to tell you that this tastes good."

Laura raised her head, her eyes wide with hope and surprise. "R-really?" she asked. At Treecko's nod, she gushed, "Oh! Good! I made it to thank you for letting me spend the night!" But then a thought hit her and she frowned. "…I should leave now," she said, before standing up and beginning to gather her things.

Treecko frowned as well, glancing away and biting his lip in thought. He seemed to briefly debate something before coming to a conclusion and turning back around. "…You know," he began, "you're really unprepared."

Laura looked at him with a confused frown, and he continued, "I mean… you ran away from home, but you can't defend yourself? You'll _never_ make it on your own."

Laura looked down. She knew he was telling the truth, but…

"So… here's my idea: you can be my sparring partner!"

Laura looked up in shock.

"I want to get stronger, and it will be easier if I have someone to practice with," Treecko explained. "And you'll get stronger too. If you stay here, we'll both be a lot safer."

"But… Dusk…_they're_ still looking for me," Laura mumbled in worry.

Treecko scoffed. "Someone's looking for you? So what? We'll get strong enough to beat them! And besides, they'd _never_ find this place. So… you in?"

Laura hesitated, so he added, "Come on… at least until you can defend yourself?"

Again, Laura hesitated. But then she nodded, and Treecko's grin threatened to split his face in two. "All right then!" he declared. "Let's go train!"

* * *

The first "day" of the arrangement went well. Treecko took Laura to his back-up training area where they could practice in relative safety. Treecko was acutely aware of how Laura was still recovering from her injuries, so he kept the focus on hitting non-moving targets (a.k.a rocks and trees). He got frustrated when he learned that she couldn't use Grass-type moves, but she seemed adept enough at using "Pound." At the end of the "day" they headed back to Treecko's home, and after dinner Laura began to paint. Treecko had never seen anything like it before and was curious.

"What are you doing?" he asked. But Laura didn't seem to hear him. It was almost like she was in a trance…

"Hey, Kid?" Treecko tried again. "Hello? Kid?" he went as far as waving a hand in front of her face. That finally snapped her out of it, and she looked up. "What are you doing?" Treecko asked again.

"…Painting," Laura answered before going back to her work.

Treecko looked down at the page. It looked like she was painting a picture of the forest, except… the trees were brown and had green leaves, instead of being the dull grey that he was used to.

"…And _why_ are you painting?"

"It's fun," was Laura's short and baffling answer.

But before Treecko could further question her, Laura yawned and rubbed her eyes. She put away her art supplies and snuggled into bed, whispering, "Good night."

Treecko wanted to ask what "night" was, but Laura was already asleep.

* * *

The next few "days" followed a similar pattern: the duo would wake up and eat the breakfast that Laura made, and then they would go and train. When Treecko deemed Laura healed enough for sparring, she was never able to put even a scratch on Treecko. In the "evenings" Laura would either paint or try to fix her wardrobe, and Treecko listened to her talk.

For all that she was quiet about everything _else_, Treecko was surprised at how vocal she was when the subject of time came up. She would talk endlessly about how wonderful it was, how time was split up into different segments, each with its own distinct name, and the effects that time had on _everything_. It continued to remind him of his parents, but, at the same time, Laura seemed to know _so much more_. It made Treecko curious about where she learned it, and he wondered if it had anything to do with her increasing nervousness the longer she stayed with him.

But, for all her nervousness, she seemed happy. And so was Treecko.

Unbeknownst to them, however, someone was watching who would threaten their happiness…

* * *

The Stunky siblings were mad. It had been what they assumed was a long time since their humiliating defeat at the hands of Treecko and the human, and they had still yet to come up with a good plan of revenge.

"Gr… Those two are so annoying!" the eldest grumbled as she paced the clearing that Treecko and Laura had vacated earlier. "We have _got_ to find a way to get back at them!"

"Should we try building another trap?" the brother suggested.

"No, Dummy!" his twin replied. "They'll be _looking_ for those now! We should try a sneak attack!"

"That won't work either," the eldest replied, shooting down the suggestion with a shake of her head. "If the human were on her own it'd be one thing. But now that she's started hanging out with Treecko…"

"Did you say 'human?'" a voice interjected from behind the group. Startled, they all spun around, just in time to see a dusknoir approach them from the shadows of the trees.

The eldest gulped, feeling intimidated. But she bravely drew herself up and replied, "That's right! There's this little human girl that always hangs around with chicken Treecko, and they—"

"Tell me, does this girl have eyes the color of a rainbow?" the dusknoir interrupted.

The eldest scowled, annoyed at being cut off. "How the heck should I know?" she snapped. "I've never seen one! Rainbows don't exist here!"

"Well does she have any other identifying features?" the dusknoir snapped back angrily. "What about a bracelet? Does she wear one?"

"…Yeah," the female stunky sullenly answered. "It's got a pendant shaped like a gear on it."

For some reason, that answer made the dusknoir's eye light up. "Why don't you children come with me and tell me what you know about this girl and her friend… Treecko, was it?" he asked smoothly, gesturing towards the shadows from which he came.

"Chaw-haw-haw… And why should we do that?" the eldest stunky demanded.

The dusknoir snapped his fingers, and four sableye quickly scurried out from the trees and surrounded them.

"Because you have no choice," the dusknoir answered with finality as the sableye laughed and forced the siblings to follow them…

* * *

_The next "day"…_

Once again, Treecko and Laura were training. Laura used "Pound" on a tree and, surprisingly, was able to make some Apples fall out.

"Good job, Kid!" Treecko praised, causing Laura to blush.

The two went to collect the Apples, and then proceeded to munch on them.

"Crunch… crunch… You know… crunch… you're getting really good at using Pound," Treecko complimented between bites of the Apple. Laura blushed again, and he grinned. "You still need to work on your form… crunch… but otherwise—"

SNAP!

The duo's heads turned sharply towards the unexpected sound and saw three hoppips crashing through the bushes. But the hoppips ignored them and went straight for the Apple tree. They looked up into the branches and scowled at the lack of Apples.

"Where did all the Apples go?!" the first hoppip demanded.

The second one looked around and spotted Treecko and Laura. "Look!" it cried. "That treecko and weird thing have some!"

Treecko scowled at the "weird thing" comment and then stood up warily, motioning for Laura to do the same, when the third hoppip came closer. "Did you get those from that tree?" it demanded.

"Maybe. What's it to _you_?" Treecko replied flippantly.

"That's _our_ tree!" the hoppip cried out in anger. "Those Apples belong to _us_!"

"Well it's not like we can give them back, so you're gonna have to look elsewhere for food!"

"That would take too long! We're _starving_!"

Laura frowned at that comment before scooping up her leftover Apples and offering them to the hoppip that was engaged in a shouting match with Treecko.

"Sorry… Want these?" she asked quietly.

The hoppip seemed stunned for a moment before regaining its composure and smacking the Apples to the ground. "That's not good enough!" it declared. "Those were _our_ Apples! We demand payment!"

With that, all three hoppips attacked. As Treecko and the hoppips were all Grass-types, none of them did much damage to each other. Laura, however, was another story. While Treecko favored Iron Tail in the fight, the hoppips favored Mega Drain, and Laura was becoming exhausted. But then she noticed that the hoppips would always rear up on their stubby legs before an attack. She took a chance and attacked just at that moment when the next one came at her, and, sure enough, it caused it to flip over onto its back, effectively becoming immobilized. The other two were quickly dispatched the same way, and were easily defeated.

"We give! We give!" the hoppip who had argued with Treecko cried. "Those Apples aren't worth this!"

Treecko immediately stepped back with a smug grin. "We did it!" he crowed. "Nice job finding their weak point, Kid! …Kid? What are you doing?!"

Laura briefly glanced over at him before returning to setting the hoppip back upright. "…They can't get home if we leave them like that," she said in response to the incredulous look he had given her.

"…Thank you," the hoppip sheepishly said once they were back upright. Laura beamed… but then her expression became one of stunned surprise when the leader suddenly reared back.

"Now take this!" he cried as he tackled her before turning tail and fleeing with his cohorts.

The impact sent Laura sprawling on the ground and caused a piece of paper to fly out of the bag she always carried around.

Treecko face-palmed before sighing and crawling over to make sure she was all right. "Kid, I think you might be just a little too gullible."

After assessing her for new injuries, Treecko saw a flash of white in the corner of his eye and looked over to see a piece of paper on the ground. "Hey, I think you dropped something," he informed her.

Laura looked over at the fallen paper in alarm before scrambling to retrieve it. She scrutinized it closely and sighed in relief when she didn't see any damage.

Treecko's brows rose in surprise at her actions. "That must be a pretty important picture, huh? Can I… can I see it?" he asked hesitantly. "I promise to be careful."

Laura looked reluctant for a moment, but then she nodded and handed it to Treecko. Treecko briefly studied it for a moment…

… and froze in shock.

The picture… there was writing at the top. Treecko didn't recognize the language, but that wasn't what surprised him so much. Nor was it the setting: a broken cage set against tranquil, blue skies. It wasn't the pokémon (a solrock, lunatone, and a few bronzor) who were hesitantly emerging from the cage either. No, the surprise came from the depictions of the two pokémon who had already fully emerged from the cage: two sceptile, one with a heart-shaped birthmark on her chest, and the other with eerily familiar scars on his left eye and arm…

"…Who are they?" Treecko asked quietly.

"The Planetary Unvester… Invusteg… _Investigation_ Team," came the equally quiet reply.

Treecko's hands started to tremble, but his voice was a calm and quiet as ever when he said, "…So my parents decided that _I_ was too weak for their 'big journey'… but they let a weak, little human like _you_ stay with them long enough to paint their portrait?"

"Your… your parents?" Laura asked in confusion.

The tone caused Treecko to lose it. "The two sceptiles in the picture!" he shouted, slapping it for emphasis. "_My_ parents! So tell me, how are they doing on their little 'quest?' It looks like they're having a lot of fun now that they don't have a son—who they _claimed_ to 'love'—to look after anymore!"

Laura had a heartbroken expression on her face. She looked down at the ground before sighing sadly. "Treecko," she began softly, looking back at him, "I'm really sorry… but your parents… they're—"

"SHUT UP!" Treecko screeched, slapping Laura across the face so hard that she fell back to the ground. She sat there, stunned, not even coming to her senses enough to put a hand to her stinging cheek, as Treecko continued to rage. "Get out of my sight, Human!" he demanded. And don't even _think_ about going back to my home! I _NEVER_ want to see your face again!"

Laura didn't cry. Her face became devoid of all emotion. When Treecko's rant ended, she simply stood up—rather robotically, if truth be told—and walked away. She didn't look back, nor did she make any attempts to reclaim her picture.

Treecko turned his back on her, not even bothering to watch her go. He simply crouched down, hugging the picture to his chest and trying to choke back silent sobs…


	33. Ch 32: They Didn't Have One

**A/N: Um... yeah... for those of you who are still reading this, thank you for your patience and I'm very, very sorry that this took so long to update. And to everyone who has recently added this to their various lists, thank you. So, without further ado... here's the next chapter!**

* * *

**Chapter 32: "They Didn't Have One"**

Treecko wasn't sure how long he sat there, huddled up in his ball of misery, but eventually his stomach growled and he decided to head home to eat dinner. As soon as he entered the cave, however, he noticed that the atmosphere seemed… different. It was just too… _quiet_—even when you took into account that the world was paralyzed.

Treecko ignored it and decided to just go along with his normal routine. But with every move he made, he just felt like something was missing. It took him longer than usual to heal himself and prepare for dinner… but in the end, it didn't matter. As he rooted around for some Pecha Berries, he came across a Plain Seed and immediately lost his appetite.

When it came time for bed, Treecko just laid on his back, staring listlessly at the ceiling. He stole a short glance at the big, empty bed beside him before quickly rolling on his side, facing the far wall. He spotted the treasure bag that he had put against it earlier when he returned home and hesitantly went over to it and took out the picture that Laura had painted of his parents and their team.

He stared at it silently, the listless and empty feeling inside him growing with each "passing second," before he sighed and dropped his face into his hands. "_Why… why do I feel like this?"_ he wondered. _"I feel the same way that I did after Mom and Dad left. But… I haven't known that girl for nearly as long! And… and why do I feel so… so _guilty_? Did I… did I overreact? I'm so confused…"_

Treecko sighed mournfully again before turning his head to stare once more at Laura's empty bed. He frowned when he noticed something white sticking from beneath the pillow and immediately crawled over to investigate. He pulled it out, and was surprised to see that it was a folded piece of paper. One of the corners was folded back, allowing him to catch a flash of what looked like a green tree, and his mind suddenly went back to the second "night" Laura had stayed with him. She had begun a painting of a green forest, but hadn't quite finished, and, aside from that brief glance he'd had when he had asked her what she was doing, she hadn't let him look at it. Treecko glanced around nervously, as if he afraid he would be caught in the act, before slowly unfolding the rest of the painting.

The forest had been completed, and the paper was filled with green. But that wasn't the only color there was; peeking out from behind the trees was this strange pinky-orange color… actually, it kind of reminded him of his old friend Celebi…

Treecko blinked as a memory came to mind. "_From what I've heard, at one point during a sunrise the sky would take on a color similar to your old friend Celebi,"_ his father had said.

_"So… does this mean that it's sunrise in this painting?"_ Treecko wondered, before continuing to inspect the artwork.

On the bottom of the page was more of that strange writing like on the picture of his parents. Treecko still couldn't decipher it, so it was once again ignored. But what couldn't be ignored was what he found in the middle of the painting.

It was _him_!

Treecko sat, stunned, as he scrutinized his painted form. Laura had captured him on the page executing a perfect Iron Tail and splitting a boulder apart—something which he had told her was one of his ultimate goals, but that he had never been able to do before. But what struck him the most was the brilliant smile on his face. He _never_ smiled like that. He was never _happy_ enough for it. But Laura… in the picture, she had wanted him to be happy. She had wanted him to be happy, and to achieve one of his goals. And to be in a world where time moved and the sun shone…

Treecko sniffled and wiped the beginnings of guilty tears from the corners of his eyes before carefully refolding the picture and sticking both it and the one of his parents into his treasure bag.

Depressing thoughts roamed his head with abandon, rendering sleep impossible and causing him to toss and turn all night…

* * *

The next "day" Treecko went out to train, to find comfort in a routine… but, just as with the "night" before, it didn't work. He quickly abandoned his attempts and returned home. He paused outside the entrance, almost reluctant to go in to what he _knew _would be lonely silence… only to freeze when he heard a shuffling sound come from within. Immediately his eyes brightened with joy and a grin spread across his face as he sped inside.

"Laura?" he called out in hope, looking around eagerly for his friend…

Only to freeze when he was instead met with the Stunky siblings.

A myriad of emotions passed through his mind. Fear, shock… and _anger_. "What are _you_ doing here?" he demanded.

"Ooh… Looks like someone's upset," the youngest stunky girl snickered. "What's the matter? Was the little chicken expecting someone else?"

"I said: _What are you doing here_?" Treecko growled. "How did you find this place?"

The eldest stunky snickered. "So, not only is he a _big_ chicken, he's also a _dumb_ one. Chaw-haw-haw… We followed the blood trail that your little human friend left, moron!"

Treecko silently cursed when he remembered Laura's injuries from the first time he had brought her home.

"As for what we're doing here…" the eldest stunky continued. "Well, we told you we'd get revenge, didn't we?" At Treecko's look of confusion she smirked smugly and glanced over his shoulder. "See, we weren't the only ones to notice the trail… here he is, Sir, just like we said."

"Indeed… You have done well, children," came a deep voice from behind him. Treecko froze in alarm before quickly whipping around and coming face-to-face with a dusknoir, who was looking at him appraisingly.

"You look just like them," the dusknoir mumbled. "Of all the pokémon for her to run into, it just _had_ to be you. The son of the leaders of the Planetary Investigation Team…"

Treecko blinked. "The… what? You… you know my parents?" he asked in surprise. At the dusknoir's menacing glare, he gulped, "Who… who are you?"

"I am Dusknoir… Master Dialga's best agent," Dusknoir obliged with a cruel smirk.

Treecko's eyes widened and he took a step back. Dusknoir smirked again before glancing towards the Stunky siblings. "You may leave now, children. Be sure to send in my… _associates_, on the way out," he ordered.

The siblings eagerly complied, and soon enough four sableye swarmed into the room, armed with rope. Despite his attempts to fight and escape, Treecko was easily subdued.

"Why are you doing this?" Treecko demanded. "What do you want with me?"

Dusknoir was very smug as he replied, "It's quite simple: you're _bait_."

"B-bait?" Treecko repeated in confusion. "Bait for _what_?"

Dusknoir frowned and turned away before answering, in a somewhat more subdued voice compared to before, "Bait for the one Master Dialga treasures above all others… the little girl with the rainbow-colored eyes… Laura."

Treecko was stunned into silence as Dusknoir immediately turned and left his home, signaling for the sableye to follow.

* * *

The band continued to wander the forest, dragging Treecko along with them, as they looked for Laura. They weren't having much luck, even with the sableye—whose names Treecko learned were Un, Dos, Cuatro, and Cinq—continually calling out to her in a cajoling manner.

"Come out, Miss Laura!" Cinq pleaded. "Wheh heh heh… No one's mad at you! You don't have to be afraid!"

"Everyone misses you!" Un added. "Let's go home, wheh heh heh!"

"We have Treecko with us!" Cuatro offered. "Don't you want to see him again?"

Upon hearing Cuatro's attempt at coaxing Laura out of hiding, Treecko flinched in guilt before sighing. "…Your plan isn't going to work," he mumbled, causing Dusknoir to glance in his direction. "We got in a fight and I… she probably hates me now. She's not going to come out and risk getting captured just to help _me_."

Dusknoir shook his head in slight amusement. "You obviously don't know Laura very well at all," he chuckled darkly. "She _always_ puts the welfare of others before her own. She'll come out to try to save _you_ the same way she tried to save your parents."

"Wh-what?" Treecko asked in surprise. "M-my… my _parents_? What are you talking about? What—?"

"Laura!" Dusknoir suddenly shouted towards the ever-present shadows, cutting him off. "I know you're out there! I have your companion with me, and unless you want him to get hurt, I suggest you show yourself!" He paused, but when no human appeared from the forest, he sighed. "Very well, then," he said as he turned towards Treecko—who froze in fear—and pulled back a glowing, blue fist in preparation for attack. "Ice—!"

"WAIT!" a voice cried out before Laura came crashing through the trees and skidded to a halt in front of Treecko with arms outspread to protect him. "Don't hurt him!" she begged.

"K-Kid!" Treecko spluttered, stunned at the turn of events.

"So you decided to come out after all," Dusknoir said, sounding both smug and… relieved? "A wise choice."

Laura frowned. "What do you want, Dusky—" she she sharply cut herself off, her brows furrowing in thought before her frown turned into an outright scowl and she continued, albeit more slowly and with a little more pronunciation trouble, "Dusk-_no-r_?"

The sableye all cringed, and—to Treecko's surprise and confusion—Dusknoir reacted as if he'd just been slapped across the face. He visibly sagged as he softly answered, "…I want you to come home, of course."

Laura glanced back at Treecko before biting her lip and facing Dusknoir again. "If… if I go back… will you let Treecko go?" she asked.

"If you come willingly," Dusknoir assured.

Laura took one more glance at Treecko before her arms dropped back to her sides and she nodded her head in assent, taking a step towards Dusknoir.

Treecko's eyes widened in shock and alarm. "No!" he yelled in protest. "What are you doing, Kid?! You told me you ran _away_ from home! Don't go back for my sake! After what I did to you… why would you even _consider_ helping me?!"

Laura looked back with a sad smile, and Treecko was further stunned with her answer: "'Cuz we're _friends_."

Dusknoir frowned at this before sighing and taking Laura's hand in his. "Come, Laura," he commanded gently as he began to lead her away. But then he suddenly glanced back and looked between Treecko and the sableye before ordering, "Sabeleye, you know what to do! _Undo those ropes._"

Laura was confused by his tone of voice, but the confusion quickly gave way to horrified understanding when she heard Treecko's agonized screams. She whipped around to see that "undoing the ropes" involved the sableye _attacking Treecko with Fury Swipes_!

"Stop it!" she screamed, pulling at her arm in an attempt to make Dusknoir let go of her. "You promised to let him go!"

"And we _are_," Dusknoir insisted. "They're just cutting the ropes off."

"They'll kill him!" Laura screamed, her escape attempts becoming increasingly more frantic and disorganized.

"Perhaps," Dusknoir admitted, "but at least that will prevent him from continuing his parents'—_ARGH_!"

He cut off with a yelp of pain when Laura bit his arm to make him release her. But when he saw her take advantage of his momentary lapse in attention and rush back towards Treecko, he gasped out in alarm, "Laura! Get back here! Stop—!"

"_AUGH_!"

Everyone froze upon hearing Laura's scream of pain. In the chaos that always followed an attack of Fury Swipes, none of the sableye noticed until too late that Laura had gotten between them and Treecko and, thus, blocked the latest volley of attacks with her own body. Her chest was dripping with blood, and slashed bandages dangled from her arms. No one moved as she slowly turned to undo the rest of the bindings on the gasping Treecko.

Dusknoir was horrified. "Laura… why would you do this?!" he demanded as he rushed forward. "Don't you remember what happened when you tried to stop the Planetary Investigation Team's execution?! You nearly died!"

Treecko startled at the Ghost-type's words and stared at Laura with wide eyes. "Those injuries…" he whispered, his voice thick with pain, guilt, shock, and sadness as he thought back to the first time he'd brought Laura home. "Don't tell me that they were from…!"

Treecko didn't get a chance to complete that thought as Laura was ripped away from him.

"Laura, get out of the way!" Dusknoir ordered as he tried to restrain the injured child.

"No!" came the expected response.

"I said _move_!" Dusknoir repeated as he attempted to drag her away from the scene.

"No!" Laura screamed even more hysterically. "You already killed his parents… you are NOT killing Treecko too!"

At this point Dusknoir was growling in frustration. "Laura—"

"NO!" Laura shrieked.

For a moment, Treecko wondered if she had learned the move Hyper Voice. Her scream had been so loud that it had caused the tree branches around them to shake. But he immediately dismissed the notion when the echo had died down… but the branches continued to shake. But then he realized that it wasn't the branches that were shaking… instead, it was the _ground itself_!

"Waah!" One of the sableye—Cuatro, maybe?—cried out in fear. "Wh-What's going on?!"

The shaking intensified, and then the air around them began to feel… _strange_. Treecko thought it felt almost like when he was hit by Flying-type attacks, except it wasn't as precise. He didn't know what was happening.

But apparently Cinq did.

"Wheh heh heh?! _Wind_?" he exclaimed in terror. "Why is there _wind_ blowing?! This world is paralyzed! There shouldn't _be_ any—"

Apparently the wind didn't care that it wasn't supposed to exist, as it suddenly intensified—along with the shaking ground—and began to whip at Laura's hair.

Laura seemed unaware of what was happening—even as rainbow colored energy began to surround her—as she just continued to shriek.

"_I WON'T LET YOU HURT HIM_!"

The rainbow energy completely encased her body, and Treecko cried out in alarm when some of it seemed to jump over to _him_ and enveloped him completely as well. The entire area was lit up by a flash of bright, blinding light, causing Dusknoir to _feel_, rather than _see,_ a clawed hand wrench Laura out of his grasp.

Soon enough the light cleared… only to reveal that Laura and Treecko had disappeared and a horde of rainbow-colored crystals had taken their stead. The sableye all looked around in confusion and worry before they jumped at Dusknoir's roar of, "Don't just stand there! _Find them_!"

"Wheh heh heh! Yes, Lord Dusknoir!" the sabeleye saluted before scurrying off with Dusknoir in tow.

The area was still for a few "moments"… before the silence was broken when a voice echoed from the ground.

"…I think it's safe to go up now," the slightly deep voice said, sounding muffled from the layers of dirt its owner was beneath. "Seriously, Kid, I'm glad you gave me that TM. It probably just saved our lives…"

Treecko popped up out of the ground—having used Dig—cradling Laura in his arms. He looked around in confusion at all the crystals and took a few unsteady steps before pausing, as if suddenly realizing something, and looking down. He nearly dropped Laura in the shock of what he saw.

"I… I _evolved_?!" Treecko—now Grovyle—exclaimed in amazement. "But… how is that _possible_?! And…" he looked around in confusion once more, "Where did all these crystals come from?!" He felt Laura move and suddenly glared down at her. "And _you_, Kid!" he began in a tone both reprimanding and worried. "What was with all that—"

Grovyle cut himself off when he realized that the "movement" he had felt from Laura was actually her body's frantic twitching in response to the residual sparks of rainbow energy that she was still emanating. But the energy quickly subsided and her body relaxed. Grovyle immediately knew that she was unconscious. Her head lolled and Grovyle cringed with guilt when he recognized the bruising caused by his slap. It stood out in stark contrast to her blood loss-induced, sickly pale skin.

Grovyle shut his eyes and sighed before adjusting his grip so that Laura was more secure in his arms. "…Don't worry," he murmured gently. "I'm going to treat your wounds as soon as I can. But we need to get to a safe place first." Grovyle frowned, mulling the options over. "We obviously can't go back to my home, so where… oh! I know! We'll go _there_! It's close by, and hardly anyone goes there… it's perfect!"

With that, he began his trek—unsteadily at first, since he wasn't used to being bipedal—out of the forest.

* * *

Oddly enough, Grovyle's intended destination was _another_ forest a short ways away, separated from the first by a bit of wilderness. Once they had reached it, Grovyle began looking for a suitable hiding place. He quickly found the perfect one: under the roots of a giant tree. He carefully gathered up some leaves—snatching some right out of the air where they must have been in the process of falling when time stopped—to make a bed for Laura before he laid her down to begin examining her injuries. With a bit of trouble he removed the tattered remains of her dress (inwardly cringing as he imagined what her reaction would be when she saw that all the hard work she put into repairing it had been for naught) and froze in horror at the revelation of just _how_ bad her injuries actually were.

He thanked Arceus for the fact that: 1. There was some water pooled by the tree roots that was clean enough for him to safely wash her wounds, and 2. Dusknoir hadn't bothered to take away his treasure bag, so he still had some of his items. Granted, it wasn't a _whole_ lot, but between his stuff and whatever Laura had in _her_ bag, he'd hopefully have enough to work with. Luckily Laura had some fresh bandages with her, so he doused them with juice squeezed from his supply of Oran Berries and wrapped up her most serious injuries. Then he put her back in her dress. It was more to keep her warm than anything else, since she was way too cold for his liking and it was too dangerous to start a fire. He considered covering her with more leaves to act as a blanket of sorts, but ultimately decided against it since he hadn't been able to bandage all of her wounds and he didn't want to risk infection.

Once he had her settled, he sat back to wait for her to regain consciousness.

And he waited…

And waited…

And waited…

Eventually he fell asleep… but she was still unconscious when he woke up. She didn't look like she'd moved even a finger, let alone curled up into her default sleeping position, and she was still ice-cold.

_"Why… why won't she wake up?"_ Grovyle fretted as he checked her temperature. _"Is she sick…? No, she's too cold for that. Maybe… is _that_ the problem? But if it is… how do I fix it? It's too dangerous to build a fire here…"_

He looked at his surroundings again before biting his lip in worry and checking her temperature once more. He winced at how cold she was before he got a determined look on his face. _"Maybe a small fire would be okay,"_ he decided before setting about gathering supplies for camouflage.

Grovyle hid the entrance to the hideaway as best he could before leaving for a quick firewood-gathering excursion. When he returned with an armful of wood, he set it down close to Laura and then went to replace the camouflage so that there would be even less of a chance for someone to discover his fire. But he was so busy with the task that he didn't notice that his motions had caused Laura to stir.

She slowly blinked her eyes—whose rainbow colors, for some reason, seemed muted—open and looked around in confusion, but she didn't make a sound or any attempt at movement beyond sluggishly turning her head to get a better view. It wasn't until he turned around to retrieve the firewood that Grovyle noticed she was conscious, and the realization made him gasp in happy surprise before rushing over.

"You're awake!" he exclaimed in glee. "Thank Arceus… I thought that you'd _never_ wake up!"

Laura's thoughts were still sluggish, so she stared at him for a moment in confusion before hesitantly asking, "…T-Treecko…? Is… is that _you_?"

Grovyle frowned, worried that she'd somehow sustained a head injury or something that made her forget what he looked like before mentally slapping himself when he realized that _of course_ she wouldn't know he had evolved.

"Well… sort of. I evolved, so I'm 'Grovyle' now," he quickly explained.

Laura stared at him blearily, still trying to figure out what was going on. "Okay… but… you said you never wanted to see me again…"

Grovyle cringed, looking down in shame as he quietly said, "That's… I shouldn't have said that. I was just…" He trailed off. Then he sighed and, screwing up all of his courage, looked her in the eyes. "I'm sorry," he apologized with sincerity. "And… I need to thank you. I never expected you to come save me like that."

Laura furrowed her brow. "I… saved you? When? What are you… what are you talking about?"

Grovyle frowned at her, his earlier fears about the concussion creeping back into his mind, and slowly prompted, "Remember? When Dusknoir and his sableye minions abducted me and—"

"They _what_?!" Laura interrupted, bolting upright with wide eyes. "When did—"

Her question was cut short when she became dizzy and her face took on a gray pallor as the pain and blood loss from her injuries finally registered. Grovyle immediately pushed her back down. "Don't try to get up!" he ordered, the sharpness of his voice not quite succeeding in masking the worry he felt. "Those sableye injured you pretty badly…"

"But they…" Laura trailed off in confusion before trying again, "I… what happened? Why am I… why did _you_…?"

Grovyle frowned at Laura's inability to complete sentences. "…What's the last thing you remember?" he asked, a sneaking suspicion forming.

Laura furrowed her brows in thought. "…I was looking for a place to sleep…" she began slowly. "It was right after you… uh…" she trailed off, blushing slightly and looking away. Grovyle cringed when he realized she was talking about their fight. But before he could apologize again, she continued, "And then… nothing. I… I can't remember anything else." She blinked before her eyes widened in fear. "Why can't I remember anything else?!"

Grovyle frowned. _"Amnesia, then,"_ he deduced, his suspicions confirmed. _"But… why? Despite all my earlier wonderings to the contrary, I _know_ it isn't because of a head wound… perhaps it had something to do with that weird energy she was giving off?"_

He would have speculated further had he not noticed Laura's shivering and continuing panic. "Are you still cold?" he asked, both as an attempt to distract her and because he was still worried about her health. When she hesitantly nodded, he moved over to the wood pile and gathered some of it into his arms. "Okay. I'll build up a fire, and then I'll tell you what happened."

* * *

"…and then I brought you here and treated your injuries," Grovyle finished, noting with pleasure that Laura had warmed up and now looked a lot calmer. But then he frowned when he noticed that the calm seemed tinged with guilt…

Laura sighed. "…I'm sorry," she apologized in a small voice.

Grovyle blinked. "What? What do you have to be sorry for?" he asked.

"I didn't want you to be part of this," Laura explained. Then she frowned in thought. "Did… did Dusk… _Dos_, and them actually _see_ you evolve?" she asked. "'Cuz… 'cuz if they _didn't_ and they still think you're Treecko, then you could probably start over somewhere else…

Grovyle bit his lip and glanced away. The possibility of fleeing and assuming a new identity had occurred to him too, but… "I don't know if they saw my evolution or not," he admitted before looking her straight in the eye and saying, "but either way… I'm not going anywhere."

Laura was surprised. She opened her mouth, as if to question his motives, but Grovyle, anticipating this, shook his head and put out a hand to stop her. "You don't remember this, but… you called me your _friend_," he said by way of explanation. "I… I feel the same way about you," he admitted, "and… and I promise, I'll _never_ abandon you again… Laura."

"You… you used my _name_," Laura whispered, stunned but pleased. But the moment was ruined when her stomach rumbled with hunger, and she blushed from embarrassment.

Grovyle grinned in amusement before helping her to sit up. Laura winced as it caused her pain to flair, but, to Grovyle's relief, she didn't become ashen like before. Grovyle then began to root through his treasure bag, muttering, "I think I have an Apple in here somewhere…"

When Laura's stomach growled again, however, he lost patience and dumped the bag onto the ground to have an easier search. A few Apples, seeds, and berries fell out… along with Laura's pictures of him as a Treecko and the one of the Planetary Investigation Team. Grovyle immediately gave Laura one of the Apples and then, after a moment of hesitation, he picked up the picture with his parents.

"Laura," he began hesitantly, "were… were you telling the truth? Are… are my parents really," he gulped before stuttering, "d-dead?"

Laura, who had just been about to take a bite of her Apple, froze at his question before lowering the fruit from her mouth and looking at the ground. Her silence confirmed Grovyle's fears, and his eyes became misty and his voice trembled when he continued, "So… s-so your injuries earlier—when we first met—they were from…?"

Laura sighed before glancing at him and then lowering her gaze to the ground once more. When she finally responded, her voice was rather muted. "I… about a year ago, Alg… _Dialga_, had Dusky… _Dusk_—" here she paused, brows furrowed in concentration as she struggled with the pronunciation of Dusknoir's name. "Dusknar," she finally, though still incorrectly, managed to say, "take me from my…" she hesitated again, "my… my _guardians_. He brought me to Temporal Tower, and I stayed there as Dialga's… friend, I guess? But… a few weeks ago he made Dusk… he made _me_, move to a mountain close to the forest where we met. That's… that's where I met your parents.

"I… I wasn't _supposed_ to," she admitted, "but I had the biggest cell, and their group wouldn't fit anywhere else. They _had_ to put us together. I wasn't supposed to see them be killed either, but… Cinq made a mistake and started it when I was walking past. I… I _tried_ to stop it, but—" she cut off, shivering in remembered pain. Grovyle winced in sympathy. When she had composed herself, Laura continued, "I ran away as soon as I could move again."

"I see…" Grovyle mumbled sadly, staring at their picture in mourning.

"They talked about you a lot," Laura mentioned, causing Grovyle to look up at her in surprise. "I mean… I didn't know it was _you, _but they talked about their son, and since that _is_—"

"They… they talked about me?" Grovyle interrupted, sounding both incredulous and hopeful. "But… they left me. Why would they…?"

"They loved you. A lot," was Laura's simple answer. Nonetheless, it brought tears to Grovyle's eyes. Laura looked away in guilt and whispered, "I'm sorry I couldn't save them."

Grovyle hastily scrubbed away his tears. "Don't… don't apologize," he ordered. "It isn't your fault."

When he saw that his assurances did nothing to remove her misplaced guilt, Grovyle looked around for something to distract her. He settled on something that had bothered him ever since he first laid eyes on them… "So… these symbols," he began, pointing to the top of the picture he held. "What are they? I've never seen writing like this before…"

For a moment Laura looked surprised. But then she blinked, as if remembering something. "Right," she mumbled. "_We're_ the only ones who use English…"

"'English?'" Grovyle repeated.

Laura nodded. "Yeah. It's what my people use when we write." She gestured for Grovyle to give her the picture, and when he complied she pointed to the letters on the top. "_These _letters are 'R,' 'I,' and 'P.' When they're put together like this with the periods—those little dots, see?—it stands for 'Rest in Peace.' And _those_ letters," she gestured towards the painting of him as a treecko, "spell out 'Thank You.' For… y'know… letting me stay with you and teaching me how to fight and stuff."

Grovyle blushed at the gratitude and—unsuccessfully—tried to hide it with a cough and the question, "S-so this pinky-orange stuff in the background… that's supposed to be a sunrise, right?"

Laura blinked again in surprise. "You know about sunrises too?"

Grovyle shrugged. "My parents told me a bit about them. But this looks a bit different than what I imagined," he explained, deciding to forgo telling her about the dreams he had of a pink celebi holding a Luminous Orb.

"Oh. Well… the real ones look better anyway," Laura said before glancing down at her bracelet and frowning. "It's too bad that the world is paralyzed, or you could see one now."

Grovyle stared at her. "What are you talking about?"

Laura stared back. "It's morning," she explained, as if it were obvious. "That's when sunrises _happen_."

"Uh huh," Grovyle huffed, crossing is arms. "And how do _you_ know that it's morning?"

Laura pointed at the adornment on her wrist. "My bracelet lets me tell time," she explained.

Grovyle didn't believe her, but he decided to just let the comment pass. "In any case, after you finish eating we should probably go look for a new place to hide. I doubt that anyone would think to look for us here, but just in case…" he trailed off as he started repacking their meager supplies. After Laura had eaten her Apple Grovyle put out the fire he went over to her. He slung one of her arms around his neck, helping her to stand. "I know it's probably a little hard for you to walk at the moment," he said as put one of his arms around her waist for extra support, "but don't worry, I'll help you."

* * *

The two friends' search was slow-going. Part of it was because Grovyle had barely mastered the basics of bipedal walking—let alone walking while having to support someone else—but most of it was because of the immense pain that Laura was in. No matter how carefully they trod, she still winced with every step. So, once more, Grovyle cast about for something to distract her.

"So, uh… where were you planning on going after you escaped from Dialga? I mean… if we hadn't met?" he asked. "Back to your old home…?"

Laura was quiet for a moment before she responded, in a voice that startled Grovyle because of how flat and emotionless it was, "…No. It's too far away. I wouldn't be able to get back without help." She paused and then gave a slight glare as she finished, "Besides… I don't _want_ to. The only reason I would _ever_ go back is if Relatia needed me."

The name sounded foreign to Grovyle. "Relatia?" he repeated. "Is that one of your guardians?"

"No!" Laura shouted, glaring at Grovyle in anger. But when she saw Grovyle's wide, surprised eyes her look softened and she sighed. "Sorry. It's just…" she sighed again. "No. My guardians were nothing like her."

"So then…?" Grovyle prompted, trying not to set her off again.

He needn't have worried, though, as Laura gave him a cheery grin and explained, "Relatia is my _mistress_. She's the leader of my people."

Grovyle was still a bit confused, but Laura didn't seem inclined to explain further and instead was looking fondly at her bracelet. Unfortunately, this also meant that she was _not_ looking at where she was putting her feet, which caused her to trip over a tree root. But luckily for her, she managed to grab a nearby branch to steady herself and prevent falling.

"Careful!" Grovyle admonished.

"S-sorry," Laura apologized sheepishly. "I—" She cut off and her eyes widened when she began to feel dizzy. "Oh…!"

Grovyle looked at her in concern. "Are you all right?" he asked, noticing that she seemed a bit wobbly on her feet.

Laura nodded, and a happy smile grew on her face when she was hit with another wave of dizziness. "The… Dimensional… Scream…!" she explained breathlessly.

Grovyle was even more confused. "The _what_—hey!" he cried out in alarm when Laura's eyes suddenly began to glow and acquired a far-off look…

* * *

_It was night. The storm was intense… the water was coming down in a deluge, and the strikes of lightning and crashes of thunder were near constant. But they served nicely to highlight the pokémon that was braving the elements and dashing through the forest, all of its focus on completing his goal. Laura couldn't entirely make out who it was because of the driving rains, but it still helped immensely._

_Suddenly, the figure froze, its attention caught by something. As Laura followed its gaze she saw, to her great surprise and awe, that the "something" was a _Time Gear_. The pokémon reached out to grab it, and—_

* * *

"Laura? _Laura_!" Grovyle called frantically as he shook his unresponsive friend, hoping to rouse her from her trance like state. To his relief, it seemed to work; Laura's eyes lost their glow and she blinked back into awareness. When she saw Grovyle's worried look, she gave a small grin.

"It's okay," she assured. "I just had a Dimensional Scream!" Grovyle just stared at her, feeling totally lost. Thankfully for him, Laura took pity on him and explained, "It's a _very_ rare ability among my people—it's prized by Relatia herself! For those with the ability, sometimes when we touch stuff, we can get visions!" Laura paused, and her grin widened before she turned to Grovyle. "I need to thank you!" she suddenly said. And before Grovyle could even ask, she went ahead and explained, "When you're my age, you need a trusted partner nearby to trigger the visions. I couldn't have done it without you, so… thanks!"

Grovyle still didn't quite understand what she was talking about, but he got the basic point—which was that Laura, apparently, was clairvoyant on some level—and curiously asked, "So… what did you see?"

"Well… there was a storm—that's a type of weather when water falls from the sky and… oh, you know about weather already? Okay, well, anyways—there was a pokémon making its way through it, all the way to… a Time Gear!" she explained with enthusiasm.

Unfortunately for her, that enthusiasm was lost on Grovyle. "A… a Time _what_?"

"A Time Gear!" Laura repeated, feeling slightly exasperated. "You know, from the legend!" At Grovyle's lost look, she frowned. "Wait… you don't know the legend either?" she asked, sounding crushed. "But… that's my favorite legend! How come no one knows it?"

Grovyle shrugged apologetically. "Sorry, but I have no clue what you're talking about."

Laura gave a rather tragic sigh before launching into a half-hearted explanation. "…Relatia is the goddess of time and space. The Time Gears are modeled after her symbol. See?" she held up her wrist so that Grovyle could take a closer look at her bracelet. "They look like this, only bigger. The Time Gears were _supposed_ to be used at Temporal Tower to prevent its collapse, but…"

"…It looks like that didn't happen," Grovyle finished, glancing around at the frozen forest.

Laura nodded glumly in agreement before getting a determined look on her face. "But my vision proves that I'm right!" she declared. "I can change that! If I go back in time, I can collect the Time Gears and put them into place at Temporal Tower! That way it won't collapse, and the planet won't be paralyzed anymore!"

Grovyle stared at her again, and then a grin slowly grew on his face. "…Okay. I'm coming with you!" he decided.

Laura's eyes lit up at his words and a smile of her own began to grow, but then, strangely, it began to falter. "I… I can't ask you to do that," she said sadly.

"You don't have to," Grovyle said, his voice firm and his mind made up. "It's like Dusknoir said: I'm going to continue my parents' work." Laura's smile came back, and Grovyle grinned in response. "So… let's get going, Partner!"

Laura's smile faltered again. "P-Partner?" she repeated.

Grovyle shrugged. "After everything we've been through, I think it'd be more fitting than to keep calling you 'Kid.'"

Laura scowled when she realized that Grovyle wasn't going to use her _real_ name anymore… but then an evil grin grew on her face and she agreed, "Okay then… _Grovy_."

"G-_Grovy_?!" Grovyle spluttered indignantly.

"Mm hm… That's your new nickname!" Laura replied in a sing-song voice, still smiling evilly. Then she got a thoughtful look on her face and her smile grew wider. "Oh! And while we're picking names for things… we should think of a team name, too!"

Grovyle stared at her, partly out of incredulity for her idea and partly because he still couldn't wrap his head around his new nickname. Laura didn't notice, and proudly declared, "I know! We can be team 'They Didn't Have One!'"

"…_What_?"

"'Cuz, 'cuz that way, if someone's looking for us, and they ask someone else what our team name is… the reply will be that 'They Didn't Have One!'" Laura explained happily.

Grovyle's eye twitched, and then he couldn't help but burst out laughing. "Come on, Partner," he said through chuckles. "Let's keep looking for a hiding spot. You need to rest if you want a swift recovery." His gaze swept the area, and he noted, "Lucky for us, Treeshroud Forest is a big place. I'm sure we'll find the perfect spot soon."

"Okay, Grovy," Laura nodded. But once more she didn't pay attention to where she put her feet, and she almost tripped over another tree root.

"Whoa!"

"I told you to be careful!"


	34. Ch 33: Reintroduction Revisited

**Chapter 33: Reintroduction Revisited**

_Grovyle's eye twitched, and then he couldn't help but burst out laughing. "Come on, Partner," he said through chuckles. "Let's keep looking for a hiding spot. You need to rest if you want a swift recovery." His gaze swept the area, and he noted, "Lucky for us, Treeshroud Forest is a big place. I'm sure we'll find the perfect spot soon."_

_"Okay, Grovy," Laura nodded. But once more she didn't pay attention to where she put her feet, and she almost tripped over another tree root._

_"Whoa!"_

_"I told you to be careful!"_

* * *

_In the present… in Relatia's Cave…_

"…It took a while for me to heal, and then we started our search for the rest of the Time Gears," Laura finished.

All of her friends stared at her in awe… except for Mason, who was snickering. "'_Grovy_?' Seriously?" he asked with amusement.

Laura blushed. "I was young, okay?" she defended. "I grew out of it! …Eventually…"

"But… oh my gosh!" Sunflora suddenly exclaimed, breaking free of her amazed stupor. "You really started your journey when you were just _four_? That's incredible!"

Laura just shrugged. "I guess. I mean… _I _didn't think it was weird… but I know that Grovyle sure freaked out when he finally learned how old I was. Which was on my eleventh birthday. Moments before we entered the Passage of Time." She paused there and suddenly started to giggle as she remembered something. "You should have seen his face! And Celebi's too! They were _priceless_."

Loudred's eye twitched. He wasn't sure that he liked this new, slightly evil side of Laura that they were learning about… for her to seek revenge over a stupid _nickname_ and then relish in the shocking reaction to her age at the expense of some of her closest friends… it made him worry that she had something planned for _him_ to get back at him for seeing her half-naked. He shuddered at the thought and decided that a distraction was in order.

"So, uh… SPEAKING of Grovyle," he said, "I NEVER would have thought that he had a past like that!"

"Hey, hey! Or _you_, for that matter, Laura," Corphish added.

Laura abruptly stopped giggling and frowned. "…Everyone had a story, and many of them were… _unpleasant_," Laura said, remembering some of the more extreme cases she had seen over the years. "We were no exception. Although…" she trailed off with a sigh and mumbled, "I suspect _my_ story had more to do with fate than anything else…"

"So… so you were Primal Dialga's… friend?" Paula asked, slightly incredulous, as she remembered their encounter with him in the paralyzed future. "But… but he was so… terrifying!"

"He wasn't so bad once you got to know him," Laura said with a shrug.

"B-but…" Paula spluttered. "E-even if that were the case, why—out of _everyone_ in the world—would he pick _you_?" Paula blinked and cringed when she suddenly realized how offensive that sounded and she quickly tried to remove her foot from her mouth by saying, "Urk! N-no offense! I-I mean… I _love_ having you for a friend, and… and…"

Laura smiled at her partner in amusement before assuring, "No, that's fine. I used to wonder myself." She stole a glance at Mason before hesitantly saying, "I think I might have a theory now, but I'm still not quite sure…"

Diglett also had a question for Laura. "So… it was _your_ idea to go back and collect the Time Gears?" he asked.

Laura blinked before cringing at the irony and sheepishly admitting, "Ah… Yeah, I guess it was…"

"Speaking of Time Gears…" Mason suddenly said, interrupting the Q and A session, "aren't there five back at the guild that we should be worrying about…?"

Everyone blinked in realization. "Oh! That's right!"

* * *

The group left the cave almost immediately after that (but not before Mason and Laura gave the ornate door one last, wistful look) and began the journey back towards Treasure Town. There was still an undercurrent of concern for the state of affairs that caused the pokémon (and Laura) to walk at a swift pace, but it wasn't as dire as before, so the return trip took a bit longer. By the time they reached the crossroads, the sun had already begun to set. When the group made it to the foot of the stairs leading up to the guild, Chatot paused and turned around to address everyone.

"It's too late to make any plans tonight," he began, "so we'll reconvene in the lower level of the guild to decide our course of action in regards to the Time Gears."

"Hooray!" everyone cheered.

But just before they were about to go their separate ways—with the guild members heading up to the guild and Team Rainbow and Mason heading to Sharpedo Bluff—they heard a voice happily exclaim, "Oh! You were right, Cresselia! They're back!"

Everyone turned to see that Drowzee and Cresselia were heading down the steps to meet them.

"Friendly friends!" Wigglytuff greeted with a huge smile on his face.

Drowzee grinned in response. "Welcome back!" he said happily.

Cresselia, though, had a much more serious demeanor. "Did it work? Is Laura better?" she asked, staring directly at Mason.

Mason seemed unsure how to respond. "Er… Well, yes, but…"

"But what?" Cresselia demanded, eyes narrowed.

"Well… it'd probably be better if you just saw for yourself," Mason said before turning slightly back towards the group. "Come on out, Laura," he beckoned. "Don't be shy."

Laura hesitated, but then she walked forward to stand beside Mason where she would be clearly visible to Drowzee and Cresselia. Drowzee's jaw dropped in shock at the sight of her altered form, but Cresselia only seemed mildly surprised… and that seemed to stem from Laura's Time Gear accessories more than anything else…

Laura gave the two a shy smile and softly said, "Hi, Cresselia, Drowzee. Long time no see. Um… thanks for trying to help me earlier."

Cresselia was surprised. "You… do you remember that?"

"_That_, no," Laura admitted. "But… I _do_ remember almost everything else."

"…'Almost?'" Cresselia repeated, a bit of anxiety creeping into her voice.

Laura was hesitant in her answer, glancing over at the guild and Paula as if afraid of what their reaction would be, before she said, "Well, you know… I've always had those memory problems, so…"

Cresselia gave a small gasp. "It really _is _you…!" she whispered with adoration, tears welling up in her eyes.

This shocked everyone (except for Drowzee—who was still stunned by the revelation of Laura's true form—and Mason—to whom the response seemed expected), and they were shocked even further when Laura immediately knelt in front of Cresselia and pulled her gently into a hug. "As I said… long time no see," she repeated, her voice lined with melancholy.

"This… ah… I'm guessing this is what a human looks like?" Drowzee asked, finally breaking out of his stupor but still seeming to be unaware of Cresselia's distress or Laura's response to it.

"That's right," Mason answered. Then he noticed that Drowzee was carrying a bundle of something in his arms and asked, "What's that?"

Drowzee blinked and looked down at the object in question, as if he'd just now remembered that it was in his possession. "Oh! Right… It's Laura's blankets and things from the guild. We weren't sure if she'd be staying there when you all got back, so I just went ahead and brought them out."

Laura relinquished her hold on Cresseslia and blinked in surprise, but then she accepted the bundle with a gracious smile. "Thanks, Drowzee."

Laura's words seemed to break Chatot out of his own stupor, and he cleared his throat, causing everyone to focus their attention back on him. "It's getting late," he hinted. "We should all get some rest. Cresseila, Drowzee, you may stay tonight at the guild. Team Rainbow, Mason, we'll see you bright and early tomorrow."

The group split, with the guild members returned headed up the stairs while Team Rainbow and Mason continued on to Treasure Town. Laura was a bit apprehensive of how the residents would react to her true form, but she needn't have worried; they were surprised, yes, and many of them were momentarily as awestruck as Drowzee had been, but, for the most part, they were simply relieved that she was feeling better. It didn't take long for the trio to make it to Sharpedo Bluff, and, once they were there, it took even less time for them to drift off to sleep.

* * *

_The next morning…_

Once Laura, Paula, and Mason woke up, they wasted no time in heading towards the guild. Laura hadn't even bothered to adorn her hair or put on her bandana yet. Nor did she have time for breakfast, although Mason insisted that she take an Apple to eat along the way. She finished it just as they reached the guild, and she was the first one to step onto the grate.

"Pokémon detected! Pokémon detected!" Diglett immediately piped up.

"Whose footprint? Whose footprint?" Louderd responded.

"The footprint belongs to…" Diglett paused. "Oh! I take that back! It's not a _pokémon_… human detected! Human detected!"

"HUMAN?!" Loudred repeated in shock. "What do you _MEAN_ hu—OH! It's LAURA isn't it?"

"Yes!"

The trio was immediately let in and they headed straight down to the lowest level where everyone was waiting.

"All right," Chatot began once Team Rainbow and Mason had settled into place. "Now that everyone is here, let's get—"

"Hey, hey!" Corphish suddenly cut him off, much to Chatot's indignation. "What are you doing, Laura?"

Laura looked up from where she was carefully braiding Time Gear adornments into her hair. "Hm?"

"Oh! Are you going to make your hair all pretty like it was yesterday?" Wigglytuff asked, seeming to have a better grip on her actions than the others.

When Laura nodded, blushing slightly at the praise, Loudred took a closer look at her, noticed something, and huffed, "SPEAKING of yesterday… aren't you wearing the same OUTFIT as then?"

Laura nodded, seeming confused about why he was bringing it up, as she finished with the adornments and began to tie on her bandana.

"With all that FUSS you were making yesterday, I'd have thought you would have _CHANGED CLOTHES_," he said rather crossly.

Laura just shrugged. "I would've if I had another outfit, but—"

"What about that DRESS?" Loudred cut her off, his annoyance increasing by the moment.

"My priestess outfit?" Laura clarified, sounding surprised. Then she rolled her eyes and, with a sigh, explained, "I already told you… I can't wear that outfit in Mystery Dungeons because it would get dirty. Besides—"

Loudred cut her off again, his annoyance reaching its peak. "Then what's the POINT of that outfit?!" he demanded.

"The _point_," Mason began, glaring at Loudred in anger, "is that she wanted to show respect to our Mistress on the faint chance that we would be able to summon her!"

That gave everyone a pause.

"You… you were trying to summon Relatia?" Paula asked in surprise.

Mason looked in her direction and his shoulders sagged. "Yes," he admitted. "But… we weren't able to. Now… I don't know what can be done to save the Time Gears."

Laura looked at him hopelessly before dropping her gaze in shame. "…I'm sorry," she whispered.

Mason immediately whipped around. "Don't apologize, Laura!" he demanded, grasping her shoulders as if to try and shake some sense into her. "How many times do I have to say it? It's _not your fault_ that you can't remember!"

Laura startled everyone by pushing him away. "But that's my _job_!" she insisted, rather passionately, actually, compared to the demeanor that the guild was used to. "That's the _reason _why she—"

But before Laura could explain who "she" was and what had been done, she was interrupted by the sound of bells. She was perplexed, having never heard that sound before, but the guild seemed to know what it signified, and Sunflora exclaimed, "Oh my gosh! A visitor? _This_ early?"

"Diglett. Go see who it is," Chatot ordered, perhaps a little more sharply than was necessary, but, in his defense, his nerves were a little frayed at the moment. In any case, Diglett didn't seem too offended and hurried to complete his task.

"Let's see…" he began once he had reached the proper spot. "It looks like… um… it looks like—WHAT?!" Diglett cut off with a startled yelp. "It's… it's _Uxie_!" he revealed, sounding frantic.

Everyone's eyes—except for Laura's, surprisingly—widened in horror at the news, and the horrified feeling only intensified when Diglett added, "And I think Mesprit and Azelf are up there too!"

"Squawk! What are _they_ doing here?!" Chatot asked, not addressing anyone in particular.

Mason and Cresselia seemed the most upset, with Mason growling, "I swear, if they've come to hurt Laura again, I'll…!" with Cresselia nodding fervently in agreement and sporting a glare of her own.

"What do you WANT, Uxie?!" Loudred demanded, his earlier annoyance at Laura fading when faced with the possibility of her coming to more harm.

"W-We just came to talk!" Uxie assured, calling timidly down through the grate.

"Well we DON'T want to listen, you stinking, backstabbing—!"

But he was cut off when a quiet voice said, "No… it's okay."

Everyone froze, turning to Laura in shock at what she had just declared. She sighed at their expressions. "…Really," she assured, "it's _okay_. You can let them in."

"But… but Laura, you—" Paula began before Laura's non-verbal response of pointing meaningfully to the Time Gears cut her off.

"We need all the help we can get."

Paula couldn't argue with that. But that didn't mean she still didn't try. "Erk! W-well yeah, but…!"

"…If Laura is all right with it, then we should let them in," Wigglytuff took authority and decreed. Everyone was stunned at his apparent agreement with Laura until… "But!" he added, "If they _did_ come to hurt Laura again… then they'll have to face ME first!"

Loudred huffed in annoyance (to mask his worry) before rather unwillingly going to open the gates. "…FINE!" he called as he went. "You three can COME IN… but we're keeping an EYE on you!"

* * *

When the Spirit Trio finally descended all the way to the lowest level, they cringed at the hostile glares they received, and they all but trembled in fear when they registered the barely restrained rage on Mason and Cresselia's faces. But a quiet voice made them pause.

"Really… this isn't necessary."

They looked around for the voice's owner in surprise, and all three froze when they finally found her.

"L-Laura…" Azelf whispered in awe. "You're… you're human again? How… how did this happen?"

Mason not-so-subtly shifted so that he was directly between Laura and the Spirit Trio before answering, his voice icy with hate, "It _happened_ while we were trying to fix the problems that YOU caused!" The Spirit Trio flinched, but their reaction did nothing to deter Mason from continuing his rant. "What's _wrong_ with you three?! Did you _seriously_ think that would work? You morons' little 'scheme' put Laura in a coma for _days_! It could have _killed_ her!"

"Mason!" Laura exclaimed, "That's enough! Uxie was just doing his job!"

Mason stared at her, gaping for a moment before snapping his mouth shut and, in a slightly calmer voice, trying to explain, "Laura, at _no_ point in their job description does it say that guarding the Time Gears requires—"

"Not _that _job," Laura cut him off, surprising everyone again. "His _primary_ job."

Mason opened his mouth again to retort, but then blinked and closed it when he seemed to realize something. Uxie himself seemed surprised at her defense, and everyone else looked to Laura in confusion.

Laura, catching the looks, obligingly explained, "Uxie is the Being of Knowledge… and you said it yourself, Mason: part of 'knowledge' is _memory_. When he did… whatever he did, he was just trying to help me regain _mine_." She paused and looked directly at Uxie before continuing, "True, recently you've been more focused on _suppressing_ memories to protect the Time Gears… and, based on what Mason just described, you _probably_ could have been a _bit_ more gentle in helping me… but it was still within your rights. And because of the situation that we're in, and given who _I_ am… it was your _responsibility_."

Everyone stared at her, completely stunned that the victim of such a horrid ordeal would actually _defend _and _agree_ with the perpetrators' actions… and then they jumped in surprise when they heard someone suddenly burst into tears. They whipped their heads over in the direction of the sound and were further stunned to see that the crying belonged to Mesprit, who had her head in her hands and appeared to be experiencing an emotional breakdown. Azelf rubbed her back in an attempt to comfort her, but his eyes were focused on Laura and, based on the tears gathering in their corners, he didn't seem to be too far from a breakdown of his own. Uxie, at least, was a lot calmer than his siblings, but he was the very picture of shame and guilt as he sighed and opened his mouth to address Laura.

"…No, Laura," he quietly said. "Mason… is right. We… _I_ had no right to do that to you. I… I owe you an apology."

Laura shook her head. "No… it's _okay_. The incident may be among the memories of mine that the crystals didn't restore… but I _understand_ why you did it… and why you couldn't give me more of an explanation for your actions. I'm not mad at you."

Mason crossed his arms and glared at Uxie. "…I understand why they did it, too," he admitted, "but that doesn't lessen _my_ anger."

"And, er…" Drowzee began sheepishly, startling everyone, "I, uh… I'm angry too, but… I really don't know what you're talking about, so… explanation, please?"

Despite the many negative emotions plaguing Uxie's mind, he couldn't help but give an amused grin at Drowzee's request. "…Of course," he agreed. "But first I must ask…" he turned to address the crowd, "What do you know about the origins of the Time Gears?"

Everyone took a moment to think, but Paula was the one to ultimately answer, "Just… that they were modeled after Relatia's symbol, I guess."

Uxie nodded; that was the answer he expected. "In that case… Mason, Laura," he suddenly addressed, causing the pair to look over at him expectantly. "I know that this information is precious to your people, and to _you two_ in particular… but may I have permission to share the Legend of the Time Gears?" he asked.

Mason and Laura shared a nervous glance before bracing themselves and nodding, giving him permission.

Uxie gave a curt nod of thanks back. "Good. Now then…" Uxie started to shimmer with psychic energy, and before anyone could react, he opened his eyes. "_Observe…!_"

There was a flash of light, and when the spots it caused cleared from their eyes, everyone looked around in confusion at their new location…

* * *

_Meanwhile, in Relatia's Cave…_

Beyond the ornate door, the three statues stood, steadfast as always. The statues of the boy and girl were glowing slightly with energy, but the statue of the woman in the middle seemed unchanged. That is… until the blackened orb she was holding began to glow…

Slowly, the darkness within it seemed to recede until it was completely gone and the orb's true color was revealed: blue-green, like the Time Gears. The orb continued to glow with energy and a swirling, purple mist began to form at its heart. As it grew bigger, the woman's statue began to glow as well, and a faint, almost musical whisper could be heard…

"…_Finally…! The barrier has finally been removed…!"_


	35. Ch 34: The Diaries: Twelve

**Chapter 34: The Diaries: Twelve**

Sunflora's "Oh My Gosh" Diary: One Problem Solved

Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh! I have _so_ much to tell you! First off: I have good news! Laura is all better now! Yippee! The Aura Crystals worked! Really well, in fact… they turned her back to a human! Eek! She looks so different now! But… she's still the same girl.

Laura's memories were also restored, but… that part wasn't so good. She ended up telling us about how she met Grovyle, and… Eek! Oh my gosh! Both of them had such tragic pasts! Laura also seems really sad about something now… but that might just be worry over the Time Gears. After all, another thing she remembered was that she worships Relatia, the goddess of time and space!

* * *

Bidoof's "Yup Yup" Diary: Humans

Golly! I just can't get over it, Diary. You see… Laura's all better now, but… she turned back into a human! Oof… I know she told us that she _used_ to be one, but… I reckon nobody really believed her. It's not that we thought she was _lying_, but… by gosh! It's just so downright hard to imagine something like that happening!

Humans are really different from pokémon, yup, yup! They need to eat a lot, and they get hurt more easily. They have a limited range of moves… and they don't even call them moves! Also, healing items don't really seem very effective on them. Then there's this whole "clothing" deal, where they cover themselves almost entirely with these strange pieces of cloth and don't like to be seen without them. Oof… Loudred found that out the hard way…

P.S. Laura also got her memories back! Well… most of them. Golly… it seems like she and Grovyle went through a lot…


End file.
